Alright! I finally got around to reading this entire feature in Nature about cellular physiologist Theresa Deisher…and this woman is my new hero. She used to be “very left-wing,” especially when it came to life issues, but now Deisher is an “adamant right-to-lifer” fighting against embryonic stem cell research…in court! First, her mind was changed about the moral status of … Read More
MLK and Human Rights, the Battle Continues
Today we remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who died fighting (peacefully) for the rights of those who were treated as less than human because of the color of their skin. Today, the battle for the freedom and the rights of all human beings is far from over and the threats to the dignity of the human person are only … Read More
Fed OKs 2nd Human Trial With Embryonic Stem Cells
A month after scientists began the first ever human patient embryonic stem cell trial, the FDA has approved a second. Advanced Cell Technology has been given permission to begin testing the safety of using ESCs to treat human patients with Stargardt disease which causes vision loss. The trial is supposed to begin after the first of the year. As I … Read More
Studying Embryonic Stem Cells for…Space Travel?
I’ve told you many times that, though they may be sold to the public as necessary for the future curing of every major disease known to man, scientists want to, and indeed are using embryonic stem cells for many other reasons. For example: A team of researchers in Australia simulated zero-gravity on earth in order to test how embryonic stem … Read More
IVF: “The Younger Sister of Eugenics”
Some bishops in Poland aren’t afraid to tell it like it is: (Reuters) – Bishops of Poland’s influential Roman Catholic Church have branded in vitro fertilization (IVF) “the younger sister of eugenics” in a letter aimed at swaying lawmakers ahead of a parliamentary debate. But their intervention, two weeks after the church condemned the awarding of the 2010 Nobel Prize … Read More
“You Cannot Kill Innocent People Even to Save People”
Here’s another video of Catholic Apologist Tim Staples answering questions on Catholic Answers Live. This time he’s talking about the Church’s position on embryonic stem cell research (h/t Deeps of Time – again!): ESCR is unethical, period. See also: Why Do I Oppose Embryonic Stem Cell Research? Speaking of deliberately killing innocent people to save other people, another Catholic apologist, … Read More
Would Human Clones Have Souls?
Catholic apologist Tim Staples gives an excellent answer to the question “do clones have souls?” (h/t The Deeps of Time): Once an embryo has been created through Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (the cloning process) using a human egg and human somatic cell, a new, living organism comes into being that is biologically, genetically human (note: this has been done before … Read More
First Trial on Embryonic Stem Cell Derived Treatment Begins
In Atlanta, the Geron Corp. has announced that it has finally begun the “first ever” human patient embryonic stem cell trial. Last Friday the first patient was injected with stem cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (though, not directly injected with the ESCs themselves). The purpose of this first trial is to test the safety of the therapy rather … Read More
Lessons From a Little Flower Redux
Four years ago, I started this blog as an extension of my pro-life apostolate. As you’ve probably noticed, I also write a lot about suffering and the Cross. That’s because it has been my observation after several years of pro-life advocacy that one of the underlying causes of the culture of death (abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, cloning/ESCR) is a desire … Read More
ESCR Funding Appeal Moving Right Along
A final decision in the Department of Justice’s embryonic stem cell research appeals case is one step closer. From one story: An appeals court today decided to allow federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research to continue while the court considers legal arguments that halted hESC research last month. “Appellants have satisfied the standards required for a stay pending … Read More