Greeting Cards and Abortion
The latest in the abortion debate seems a bit bizarre. Exhale, a post-abortion counseling group, is now offering a variety of supportive E-cards to send to women who have recently undergone an abortion. The cards include attractive pictures of flowers or mountains. One version expresses the sentiment: I think you’re strong, smart, thoughtful, and caring. [...]
Aborting the Less-Than-Perfect
During early fetal development, sometimes the esophagus fails to develop normally, a condition known as esophageal atresia. This happens once in about 3500 pregnancies, and doctors can frequently diagnose this condition by ultrasound prior to birth. Except that sometimes the doctors are wrong. In a teaching hospital in Florence, Italy, a woman had an abortion [...]
Viable Thinking About Life
Back in 1973, Justice Blackmun in the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision said that states could not prohibit abortion until after “viability.” This is the moment when the unborn child could possibly survive outside of the womb. According to Blackmun, “Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, [...]
The Year in Review
As we enter the new year, a look back at 2006 may give us perspective. Unfortunately, this has not been a particularly good year for the notion that human beings have inherent value. In fact, human personhood as a concept took a downward turn, replaced by a disturbing ‘end justifies the means’ mentality. A few [...]
The Bioethics of Bethlehem
As we enter Advent, it may be worth pausing in our mad seasonal rush to reflect on the significance of Emmanuel, or “God with us,” from Matthew 1:23. For Christians, this means that God sent His Son in human form, to save mankind from sin and condemnation. Yet we seldom consider the amazing detail that [...]
A Papal Pronouncment on Ends and Means
A good result can never justify intrinsically unlawful means. That was the gist of the statement by Pope Benedict XVI on September 16, to participants in a symposium on stem cell research organized in Rome by the Pontifical Academy for Life. Some other noteworthy excerpts: May I also point out, in the face of the [...]
The Bioethics of Bodies
Several of my pre-med biology students have asked me about Gunther von Hagens’ exhibit “Body Worlds,” now touring the country. Since we offer cadaver dissection as part of our undergraduate courses in human biology, I guess my initial reaction was “Hmm, sounds educational; I guess that’s alright.” Mind you, I had not seen the exhibit. [...]
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