We should be chanting, ‘Save our sanity’
Donald DeMarco emphasizes the importance of distinguishing what is real and what is nonsense regarding the politicized issues of the day.
Church clarifies issues of IVF and frozen embryos
Editor's Note: The Interim is publishing excerpts from Dignitatis Personae: On Certain Bioethical Questions, the Vatican's new instruction on bioethics. The instruction, released Dec. 12 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is considered the most significant document treating biomedical issues in over 20 years, updating Donum Vitae, addressing the scientific advances of the past two decades. The excerpts we [...]
Miracles still happen
Does God still talk to man with signs and wonders? Or did He stop communicating with his children 2,000 years ago? Are miracles a thing of the past, or are they taking place as often and potently as each plea is voiced? It appears as though God is still in touch with his creatures in a profound way. He did say that [...]
‘Ethical’ stem cell discovery found to be not so ethical after all
A much-celebrated breakthrough that turns adult skin cells to embryonic-like stem cells is not the solution to the problem of destroying embryos for pluripotent stem cells. In November, Dr. Shinya Yamanaka and Dr. James Thomson published separate studies that were hailed as moral alternatives to embryonic stem cell research, both in the media and by some pro-lifers. Both studies involved introducing genes [...]
Marking 25 years of research
It has spent the last quarter-century providing valuable scientific insight into life issues in Canada and, as co-founder and co-president Dr. L.L. Barrie de Veber pledges, the Toronto-based de Veber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research, which bears his name, is only just beginning. “We closed down last year – we ran out of money. But now, we’re up and going again, [...]
How brave a new world?
The quotable Leon Kass Editor’s note: Leon R. Kass delivered this commencement address at St. John’s College, Annapolis, Md. on May 13. It is reprinted with permission. Dr. Kass is chairman of the President’s Council on Bioethics, a Hertog Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of numerous books, including Reproduction and Responsibility (2004) and Life, Liberty and the Defence [...]
Prenatal tests pose unnecessary threat to the unborn
Many doctors have been asked the question, “Doctor, is my baby normal?” The physician replying to the above question must remember that all medical diagnostic tests should be performed only in order to identify and, if possible, cure or ameliorate whatever condition the patient may be suffering from. He or she should also know that some currently used medical diagnostic tests are [...]
Science and soul
I have no problem with science as such. But I do, sometimes, have trouble with the scientists. Science has done wonderful things for us and for the world in general. Cars, radios, telephones, computers and airplanes are just a few of the tremendous benefits of science and the scientists who invented and developed them. I have no problems with most of the [...]
Organ donation bill opposed
For the past year, there has been an increased push by some in the healthcare system, the media and political circles to convince Canadians to sign their organ donor cards. For others, such information campaigns are not enough, so Ontario MPP Peter Kormos (NDP) went so far as to draft a private member’s bill that, if put into effect, would presume consent [...]
A positive stem cell option lies in use of amniotic fluid
Researchers at the Institute of Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University in Salem, N.C. have discovered a type of cell that floats freely in the amniotic fluid of pregnant women and has many of the traits of embryonic stem cells, suggesting a potentially ethical source of pluripotent cells – cells that scientists believe can grow into any other human cell and thus [...]
Marguerite Bourgeoys helps couples conceive ethically
When Margaret Smith discerned her calling to teach the Creighton system of natural family planning, she declared, “If, by becoming a practitioner, I prevent even one abortion, then I’ve done my job.” Adamantly pro-life, the former palliative care nurse and sometime missionary is now an integral part of the Marguerite Bourgeoys Family Centre Fertility Care Programme, which held its annual general meeting [...]
Missouri stem cell initiative really about cloning
By the narrowest of margins (51 per cent to 49 per cent) voters in Missouri passed Amendment 2, ostensibly a constitutional amendment that would permit embryonic stem cell research and ban human cloning. But Amendment 2 permitted human cloning by redefining it – allowing “somatic cell nuclear transfer” (cloning) to create human embryos for research purposes – and outlawing cloning only for [...]
Embryonic stem cells risk tumours
A U.S. research team has released a report showing that embryonic stem cells injected into the brains of Parkinson’s patients have a serious risk of forming tumours. Steven Goldman and colleagues at the University of Rochester Medical Centre in New York wrote in the journal Nature Medicine that human embryo cells injected into the brains of rats showed signs of forming [...]
Conservatives fumble on embryonic stem cell research
At a White House ceremony on July 19, President George Bush explained his decision to veto a bill to fund embryonic stem cell research. He pointed out: “Embryonic stem cells come from human embryos that are destroyed for their cells. Each of these human embryos is a unique human life with inherent dignity and matchless value.” To underline this point, [...]
Charities supporting unethical stem cell research
Interim Staff The Interim is often asked which Canadian charities support embryonic stem cell research – research that destroys human beings at the embryonic stage of life. Compiling this information is an ongoing and arduous project and we thank LifeSiteNews.com for maintaining a page (http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/sep/060918a.html) listing such charitable agencies and societies. As LifeSiteNews states: “This is an ongoing project and this list [...]