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Senator Brian Harradine: “How often has in‑vitro fertilization been undertaken on non‑human higher primates?” Professor William Short: “It has not been undertaken on gorillas because gorillas are an endangered species.” Senator Brian Harradine: “So you are able to do it on humans?” Professor William Short: “We are not an endangered species.”1 The history…
Read MoreHuman Conception: The Beginning of Life There is much confusion and disagreement today about when human life actually begins. The official and public face of the medical profession insists that life begins at implantation — yet every embryology and fetology textbook in use today states that it begins at the instant of fusion between sperm…
Read MoreWhat are good and faithful Catholics supposed to do when they encounter the anguish or despair in life that comes from an inability to do something they desperately want and that seems so natural—like having children? How should we apply our ability to trust to a situation like this? Proverbs 3:5 tells us: “Trust in…
Read MoreOne of the most amazing gifts of a marriage is children. The excitement of a new life coming into the world cannot be matched by much. That’s why it’s so difficult, as a faithful people, to witness the sadness of couples who face infertility. With our country’s advances in technology, couples facing infertility have myriad…
Read MoreIn essence, [surrogacy] is the ultimate manifestation of the neoliberal project of capitalist commodification of all life to create profit and fulfill the narcissistic desires of an entitled elite. ~Kathleen Sloan, director of the Connecticut chapter of the National Organization for Women.1 What Is Surrogacy? Surrogate motherhood is the oldest form of assisted reproduction.…
Read MoreMortality is the human condition. It is natural for humans to wish to delay or somehow escape death, or at least to forget or ignore their mortality. The ancient tales of the “fountain of youth” or other objects that promise eternal youth or immortality are well-remembered. In the modern day, an escape from death may…
Read MoreIn the early 20th century, eugenics was widely supported among the educated classes all across the West. Eugenicists fancied themselves benefactors of the human race, putting to use the most cutting-edge science to eradicate human suffering, and to “improve” the human race. By giving nature a helping hand, carefully encouraging the reproduction of the “fittest”…
Read MoreFear and a lack of understanding often cause people to do unthinkable things. The advent of eugenic sterilization in twentieth-century America is one example. Let’s take a step back to the 1880s and briefly meet Sir Francis Galton. Galton was an anthropologist, a sociologist, and a psychologist. He was also a eugenicist. Eugenics is the…
Read MoreJust a few days ago, popular podcaster Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report announced that he and his partner are expecting two babies, one due on August 22, and the other due on October 14. How, you might wonder, can one couple be expecting two babies just two months apart? Well, Rubin is a man…
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Can We Support Stem Cell Research?
Much of the confusion over stem cell research involves misunderstanding of terms, so let’s begin with some definitions. Stem Cells in General Stem cells are immature cells that are undifferentiated (i.e., they have not yet “decided” what kind of cell to be). A stem cell divides into two cells: (1) a duplicate of itself and…
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