Experiments on the living unborn. Organ harvesting. Reckless biotech. Radical environmentalism. These are not horror stories playing at your local movie theater. They’re playing out in labs, hospitals, and institutes across America. On a classic episode of ID the Future for Halloween, I speak with bioethicist Wesley J. Smith about frightening abuses of science being done in the name of progress.
In this unnerving exchange, Smith discusses examples of biotechnology that are advancing faster than our ethical considerations, including synthetic human embryos, genetic engineering, and fetal farming. He unpacks recent attempts by environmental activists to give rights to non-living things like rivers and oceans. He explains the difference between animal rights and animal welfare, while exposing the animal rights campaign as an anti-human movement that inhibits human flourishing. Smith also discusses the latest fronts in the gender ideology crusade, and how the rush to affirm gender dysphoria in children is causing tremendous harm to our society. And before the nightmare ends, Smith explains the pernicious push from evidence-based medicine to “science-based medicine,” a strategy that encourages censorship and totalitarian governance of the scientific enterprise.
How do we stop these horror stories? More awareness and real, enforceable regulations are a good start. But the heart of these issues is our value of human life. “Human exceptionalism is about the unique dignity of human life,” says Smith, “but it’s also about our moral responsibilities to each other, particularly the vulnerable and the ill.” Download the podcast or listen to it here.
Dig Deeper
- Get a copy of the latest edition of Wesley J. Smith’s book Culture of Death: The Age of Do Harm Medicine.
- Learn more about frightening abuses of science on the Humanize podcast, hosted by Wesley J. Smith.
- Watch the video of this episode below: