Readers who liked Jerry’s
post about infanticide might also like this
Get Religion article.
Whatever Happened to the Human Race?
1 Reply
Tag Archives: ethics
How Not to Go Dutch
A Dutch hospital now has a protocol for euthanizing ill babies (thanks Drudge), and evidently this has been happening on the sly for some time, which is no surprise, given that the Dutch have a bad track record with reporting and enforcing adult euthanasia laws (which again were legislated only after euthanasia had a wide following in that country–see the excellent chapters on the Netherlands in The Case Against Assisted Suicide).
Many will be rightfully horrified, but to those horrified folk who are pro-choice, I ask: why not? What's the magic difference between a 1st-trimester abortion, a partial-birth abortion, and infanticide? I've heard various justifications, but I think it basically boils down to three positions. Let's see how these would help us hold off atrocities like what goes on in the Dutch medical system. The positions are:
Strange Bedfellows
People are going to think my life (or at least my blog) revolves around Theomorph,
but I just can’t wait to hear what he has to say about this.
Atheist supports
Ratzinger crusade against secularism
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has
enlisted in his defence of Christianity against secular Europe, the German philosopher
Jürgen Habermas [a self-described “methodical atheist”], who said
in an essay published this month that “Christianity, and nothing else, is the
ultimate foundation of liberty, conscience, human rights, and democracy, the benchmarks
of Western civilisation”.
A Study in Contrasts
I'm fascinated by bias and slant in the media. Here are two opposing spins on the same story.
Vatican Has Not Denied Automatic Excommunication of John Kerry (LifeSiteNews)
"News which broke yesterday about a Vatican consultant's response to a question about canon law application to Catholic politicians who support abortion, has created a media uproar and contradictory statements about the Vatican's involvement in the response."
"Washington-based Rev. Basil Cole's response to California canon lawyer Mark Balestrieri indicated that Catholic politicians who advocate abortion are 'automatically excommunicated'. This pronouncement was understood by Balestrieri to indicate Vatican support for his lawsuit against Kerry. However, with the Presidential contest in question, Vatican authorities, with unusual haste for an institution that is typically very slow to respond to even the gravest matters, today fended off any suggestion of involvement in Balestrieri's lawsuit. Balestrieri has launched a church lawsuit against Kerry seeking to have him disciplined by Church authorities for his outspoken support for abortion"
Kerry "excommunication" scam exposed (CathNews)
"An official at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has claimed that a Californian canon lawyer seeking a formal decree of heresy against Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry of Massachusetts has misrepresented his contact with the Vatican office."
"The canon lawyer has claimed publicly that he received a communication from the Congregation implying that Kerry is excommunicated because any Catholic politician who says he is 'personally opposed to abortion, but supports a woman's right to choose,' incurs automatic excommunication. If credible, the claim could cause significant damage to Kerry's chances in an election that some pollsters say hinges on the Catholic vote."
"'The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has had no contact with Mr (Marc) Balestrieri,' said Congregation undersecretary Fr Augustine DiNoia."
Burying the Truth
Once again, I feel compelled to tell you all about a serious mistake in logic and ethics that one of my favorite bands, Brother, has made. You may recall that I have thrice (here, here, and here) pointed to their "Concert for Cures" tour. Well, they now have a whole page dedicated to it, and it's full of misconceptions and misinformation. Let's flood them with corrections.
"'If, as the scientific community agrees, there's a real chance to cure not just diabetes, but Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, spinal injury, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis…and the list goes on, then let's get serious and bring it on', says Richardson. 'And let's not drive stem cell research underground by leaving it to private companies to fund. Let's give scientists in our public institutions the resources they need to make the breakthroughs the world so desperately needs.'"
First, be clear about scope. Are we talking about stem cells in general, or embryonic stem cells in particular? Next, define "real chance". Last I checked, embryonic stem cells haven't done squat and adult stem cells have been showing promising results. Lastly, stop begging the question. This is not merely a matter of whether we support scientific progress or not. It's about whether we want progress at any moral or ethical cost.