• A British woman is suing the American couple she agreed to become a surrogate for after they allegedly backed out of the deal because she is carrying twins. The couple only wanted one child and demanded that she abort one of the fetuses She refused and wants to put the twins up for adoption. • The International Medical Travel … Read More
Benedict and Biotechnology
Unlike the rest of the Catholic blogosphere, I never did offer my reflections on Benedict XVI’s papacy after he “retired” earlier this year. But, the latest “breakthrough” in human cloning got me thinking about Pope Benedict and how he often drew attention to what he called the “difficult problem of bioethics,” especially in the area of science and human biotechnology. … Read More
Gattaca, Cloud Atlas and the Human Future
I’ve talked here before about how science fiction is not so fictional anymore, even when it comes to human cloning. Lately, some other, smarter people have also been taking notice. First, over at the American Spectator, Daniel Allott takes a look at the movie Gattaca and how, 15 years later, the sci-fi thriller is fast becoming our reality: In Gattaca’s … Read More
Cloning Humor
Cloning hasn’t been in the news for quite some time, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not going on right now. Recall: we did not find out when the first embryos were cloned until after scientists wrote a report about their experimentation that had been going on for probably years. If nowhere else, we know it’s definitely going on in … 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
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
NCBC/Ave Maria Update
Two weeks ago I questioned the conclusion by the National Catholic Bioethics Center that there was no moral objection to Ave Maria University/Town creator Tom Monahan possibly selling part of his interest in the land around the university in order to allow the Jackson Laboratory biotech firm to build a research facility on the site. Here is a statement from … Read More
Dean Koontz: Chronicling Our Doom
I’ve told you a few times that I am in the middle of Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein series about transhumanism and the deadly quest for human perfection and immortality. I’ve never read Koontz before, but decided to pick this series up since it is related to many things I discuss here on my blog. So far it has not disappointed. I’m … Read More
Splice **Update**
h/t to Jill Stanek on Facebook for the heads up on this human/animal hybrid sci-fi/horror movie out this weekend. I hadn’t heard anything about it until today and I’m going to try to see it sometime next week – if I can get my little sister, a horror movie fan (which, with very few exceptions, I am not usually) to … Read More
Fertilization 101
Will the bastardization of science never end? No doubt you have heard some abortion advocates oppose initiatives to define human personhood as beginning at the moment of conception by claiming that such legislation would give human rights to an egg – nevermind the fact that that egg must be fertilized by a human sperm, in which case it completely ceases … Read More