Search Results
To Listen to Audio click the Play Button [beneath each segment] which varies based on the browser you are using.
May 14, 2024
Title: Bioethics: Has Killing for “Unjust Conditions” Become Acceptable?
Topic: Euthanasia
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Part 1 of 2
Wesley J. Smith is the Chair and Senior Fellow at the Discovery
Institute’s Center on Human
Exceptionalism. He has been recognized as one of America’s premier public intellectuals on bioethics and has been honored by the Human Life Foundation as a “Great Defender of Life” for his work against suicide and euthanasia.
Wesley recently
wrote: “Once killing the sufferer becomes a societally acceptable means for ending suffering, there is no end to the “suffering” that justifies human termination.”
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Is there debate within society that killing the sufferer is an acceptable means for ending suffering? Wesley reveals that states in American that “monitor” euthanasia have loosened their grip and Canada will soon allow euthanasia for those with mental illness such as PTSD.
Will those who are homeless or living in poverty soon be euthanized?
What exactly is euthanasia? Wesley explains the different types of euthanasia and discusses a chilling and horrific case from The Netherlands.
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
Title: Part 2 of 2 - Bioethics: Has Killing for “Unjust Conditions” Become Acceptable?
Topic: Euthanasia
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What is “Medical Assistance in Dying” or MAiD? Wesley explains that
those who are pushing euthanasia have coined this new phrase because it doesn’t
sound as shocking.
Is “harm reduction” being used as the reason for euthanasia?
Can euthanasia/assisted suicide be considered or compared to abandonment? Wesley
reveals that when many people who have a terminal illness receive mental health
help, they no longer wish to die. This is what needs to be offered – not
euthanasia!
Is bioethics growing increasingly monstrous?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
September 25, 2023
Title: Academic FIRED After PROOF of Falsifying Research on Systemic Racism
Topic: Biased Results
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Patrick Brown wrote a paper: “Climate
warming increases extreme daily wildfire growth risk in California”
which has been quoted over 8,500 times. The bad news? It was all a lie.
Wesley J. Smith is recognized as one of America’s premier public intellectuals on bioethics by the
National Journal. He is Chair and Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism.
Click
here to read Wesley’s op-ed on this topic.
Click
here for his most recent book: “Culture of Death: The Age of “Do Harm” Medicine”.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Is academic advancement predicated on being published?
Have the scientists who submit articles to science and medical journals slanted their findings to appease the reviewers in order to be published?
Has Patrick Brown admitted that he lied? What did he lie about?
Is there an ideological blockade in science and medical journals? Wesley sites some specific examples of “settled science” by some of the most prestigious science and medical journals…
Can the bias in media and in scientific and medical journals be reversed for the betterment of mankind?
Are students in public schools and colleges across the nation being fed a specific narrative (liberal ideology) on many issues?
Click here to help support the
Discovery Institute.
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
May 30, 2023
Title: Bioethics: Has Killing for “Unjust Conditions” Become Acceptable?
Topic: Euthanasia
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Part 1 of 2
Wesley J. Smith is the Chair and Senior Fellow at the Discovery
Institute’s Center on Human
Exceptionalism. He has been recognized as one of America’s premier public intellectuals on bioethics and has been honored by the Human Life Foundation as a “Great Defender of Life” for his work against suicide and euthanasia.
Wesley recently
wrote: “Once killing the sufferer becomes a societally acceptable means for ending suffering, there is no end to the “suffering” that justifies human termination.”
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Is there debate within society that killing the sufferer is an acceptable means for ending suffering? Wesley reveals that states in American that “monitor” euthanasia have loosened their grip and Canada will soon allow euthanasia for those with mental illness such as PTSD.
Will those who are homeless or living in poverty soon be euthanized?
What exactly is euthanasia? Wesley explains the different types of euthanasia and discusses a chilling and horrific case from The Netherlands.
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
Title: Part 2 of 2 - Bioethics: Has Killing for “Unjust Conditions” Become Acceptable?
Topic: Euthanasia
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What is “Medical Assistance in Dying” or MAiD? Wesley explains that
those who are pushing euthanasia have coined this new phrase because it doesn’t
sound as shocking.
Is “harm reduction” being used as the reason for euthanasia?
Can euthanasia/assisted suicide be considered or compared to abandonment? Wesley
reveals that when many people who have a terminal illness receive mental health
help, they no longer wish to die. This is what needs to be offered – not
euthanasia!
Is bioethics growing increasingly monstrous?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
July 16, 2021
Title: Man Should Not Play God
Topic: Genetics and Human Cloning
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Vermont has already established an absolute statutory right to
abortion through the ninth month and deprives embryos and babies of any rights.
They have now gone one step further, proposing something akin to reproductive
anarchy.
Wesley J. Smith warns: “The unintended societal consequences of such radical
experiments in family formation and childbirth – and the prospect of using
unborn life instrumentally in more varied ways than we do already – cannot be
known.”
Wesley is a contributor to the Corner at National Review and author of more than
fourteen books. He has been recognized as one of America’s premier public
intellectuals on bioethics and has been honored as a “Great Defender of Life”.
Click here for more from Wesley J. Smith at
the Discovery Institute.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What’s wrong with manufacturing babies via cloning?
What’s wrong with engineering a baby?
What’s wrong with fetal farming for organ-donation purposes? “It denies the
importance of human life, even at the gestation stage,” Wesley believes.
What is “reproductive autonomy”? Wesley reads some of the proposed
Vermont amendment, which will be up for a public citizen vote in 2022.
Where will this end with man playing God? Wesley compares it to the Tower of
Babel.
Is there intrinsic value in human dignity?
Is a clone the same as a slave? Wesley says that this has a complicated answer…
Have scientists thought through the implications of human cloning?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
June 15, 2021
Title: Granting Human Rights to Animals, Water, and Nature
Topic: Animal Rights vs. Human Rights
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Part 1 of 2
The Left has officially gone crazy. And Wesley J. Smith with the
Discovery Institute has details today on just how crazy they have become.
For more on this topic from Wesley, click
here.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Are animal rights activists arguing in court that animals should have constitutionally protected rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness just like humans? Are they arguing that animals and humans have “equal moral value”? Wesley wants to make clear that he does not advocate for animal cruelty.
Do these animal rights activists want to stop ALL animal ownership – period?
Who is Gary Francione? What are some of his ideologies?
What’s UP with the highest court in New York hearing a case where animal activists want an ELEPHANT declared a person? Did they do the same with chimpanzees? What did the original judge rule on this?
Did a court in Argentina rule that orangutans are “not human persons”?
Some are even arguing for “water and nature rights”. Is a river or waterway “human” by definition? Listen close to this ruling! It’s insane!
How many rivers across the world have already been declared persons and given rights?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
Title: Part 2 of 2 - Granting Human Rights to Animals, Water, and Nature
Topic: Animal Rights vs. Human Rights
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Is animal welfare an expression of human exceptionalism? Wesley explains that we do have a responsibility to help and protect all animals – even when there is no benefit to humans or nature. On the contrary, animals have no responsibility to humans or nature.
When animals and objects – trees, waterways, the wind – becoming persons and off limits to being used by man, will man be forced to survive without food, water, and energy? Bottom Line: These animal rights activists are anti-human. “They’re not logical. They’re emotional. These people don’t think; they feel. And there is a distinction between those concepts,” Wesely says.
Have some animal activists really stated that they wish COVID-19 was worse so it would kill more of the world’s population?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
February 18, 2020
Title: The Fourth Reich
Topic: China
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Part 1 of 2
The world keeps turning a blind eye to China’s crimes against the humanity of its own people.
Could this be the Fourth Reich?
Award-winning author Wesley J. Smith is the chair of the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. Today, he discusses the real dangers the world faces from China.
Wesley’s article on this topic can be found
here.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Wesley recently stated: “China is the world champion at cancel culture.” What is “cancel culture”?
Who are the targets?
Is mass organ harvesting really occurring in China?
Why does China act so ruthlessly against major religions? Wesley states this: “They’re trying to eradicate competition for loyalty of the people.”
What is a “low social credit score” in China? Are they using facial recognition techniques, artificial intelligence, GPS tracking, and social association triggers to find and persecute Christians? What are the consequences of a “low social credit score”? Tune in to the next segment for more on this…
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
Title: Part 2 of 2 - The Fourth Reich
Topic: China
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
In the early 1990’s, what population group was China attempting to control? What
happened to that population? Who did they target next?
Are we witnessing aspects of George Orwell’s book, “1984”, happening in
China right now?
FACT: There are now more Christians in China than Communist
Party Members. This is a PRAISE, but…
Does the Chinese government now view Christians as a threat?
What methods are the Chinese governments using to persecute Christians? Wesley
reveals more details about the “low social credit score” in China. One
method – using children to turn the parents against Christianity – is absolutely
heartbreaking!
Are Liberals/Progressives/Democrats in America using “cancel culture”
tactics, too? Wesley believes they most certainly are!
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
March 12, 2019
Title: Human Remains After Death
Topic: Human Remains After Death
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Part 1 of 2
Disclaimer: Use caution when listening to this segment around young children. Issues discussed might be upsetting or hard for little ones to understand.
Are human remains just waste material? Right now, the Washington Legislature is considering a bill that would allow people to be either composted or liquefied. Is this legal? Is this moral?
Wesley J. Smith is among the world's foremost critics of assisted suicide and utilitarian bioethics. Smith was named by the
National Journal as one of the nation’s top expert thinkers in bioengineering for his work in bioethics.
The Human Life Foundation named him a “Great Defender of Life”.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Are human remains just waste material? Wesley J. Smith explains why we must treat the dead with respect.
Do some states already liquefy people if they so wish? What happens to this liquid?
Do some Jews, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and Muslims practice “green burials”?
What are healthy ways that we can be environmentally-conscious in showing respect for those who have passed on?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
Title: Part 2 of 2 - Human Remains After Death
Topic: Human Remains After Death
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Disclaimer: Use caution when listening to this segment around young children. Issues discussed might be upsetting or hard for little ones to understand.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Does disrespect for the body lead to more disrespect? Are there historical
examples of this?
What is the significance of the graveyard or the urn?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
November 20, 2018
Title: Mercy Killings for Minors
Topic: Euthanasia
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Part 1 of 2
First they came for the elderly. Then they wanted the mentally impaired and physically disabled. Now, they want to extend mercy killings to minors – without parental consent. But, who are “they”?
Wesley J. Smith is among the world's foremost critics of mercy killing/assisted
suicide and utilitarian bioethics. Today he will be discussing this disturbing
issue; the article he wrote can be found
here.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
In a world where eliminating the sufferer is increasingly becoming a mark of compassion, how can we teach our children that true compassion protects life?
Have we, in America, lost the battle against legalizing assisted suicide for the elderly, mentally, and/or physically challenged? Listen as Wesley J. Smith passionately appeals to everyone listening to not stop fighting this battle.
Have other countries legalized assisted suicide for the elderly, mentally, and/or physically challenged?
Does Canada force doctors to assist their patients in suicide?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
Title: Part 2 of 2 - Mercy Killings for Minors
Topic: Euthanasia
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What drives those who are hell-bent in helping others die? Wesley discusses
three alarming factors…
Will Canada and other countries soon allow minor children who are terminally ill
to choose euthanasia? Will this be with or without parental consent? Will they
even notify the parent?
NOTE: Belgium has ALREADY begun euthanizing minors without parental consent!
Is it too late to save America from this same fate?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
October 17, 2018
Title: Live Harvesting of Organs: Ethical or Not?
Topic: Organ Harvesting
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Part 1 of 2
Disclaimer: Use caution when listening to this segment around young children. Issues discussed might be upsetting or hard for little ones to understand.
In September, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article which noted that “following the dead donor rule could interfere” with some patients’ desires. The authors noted: “…it may be ethically preferable to procure the patient’s organs in the same way that organs are procured from brain-dead patients (with the use of general anesthesia to ensure the patient’s comfort).”
Really?
Wesley J. Smith response: “Conjoining euthanasia with organ donation would … send the insidious message to vulnerable people that their deaths have greater social value than their lives,” as it transforms organ transplant surgeons from “healers into killers.”
Wesley J. Smith is Co-Chairman and Senior Fellow of Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. Wesley Smith is among the world's foremost critics of assisted suicide and utilitarian bioethics.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What is the “dead donor rule”?
Is the New England Journal of Medicine influential in the medical world?
Nuremberg Trial medical expert Leo Alexander denounced German medical eugenics. What warning/advice did he offer American physicians?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
Title: Part 2 of 2 - Live Harvesting of Organs: Ethical or Not?
Topic: Organ Harvesting
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Disclaimer: Use caution when listening to this segment around young children. Issues discussed might be upsetting or hard for little ones to understand.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
How is harvesting live organs different than harvesting baby body parts after a
partial-birth abortion? HINT: It’s NOT different!
Are some people “just not worth the effort”? HINT: Obviously everyone is worthy.
BUT this mirrors the horrific way of thinking by the left.
Listen as Wesley discusses a book from 1920 “Permission to Destroy Life Unworthy
of Life”. The ideas in this book are extremely disturbing!
Are some doctors beginning to accept euthanasia and live organ harvesting? Why
are they willing to dispense with the historical foundations of medicine?
If the dead donor rule is repealed, will less people be willing to donate their
organs upon their death?
What are some ethical ways to encourage and increase organ donation?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
August 31, 2018
Title: Is a River a Person?
Topic: Is a River a Person?
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Is a river a person? No – this is not a trick question! Four rivers, including the Amazon and Ganges, have been granted legal rights. Furthermore, over thirty US towns grant nature rights. But what are the purported “rights” of nature? And what will they do?
Wesley J. Smith is the Co-Chairman and Senior Fellow of Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. Listen in as he explains what “profoundly subversive of Western values” are and how this new environmental craze can affect you.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Are courts “really” giving rights to rivers?
What does “sustainable” mean?
In what ways would nature rights undermine human progress?
What are possible economic effects of nature rights?
Can anyone file suit to claim a land should be protected?
How can we oppose nature rights in our communities?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
June 14, 2018
Title: Fighting Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia
Topic: Assisted Suicide
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Part 1 of 2
Reports of assisted suicide and euthanasia cases are increasing worldwide.
How and why have we come to this sad situation?
Wesley J. Smith recently offered a warning in The National Review “that
assisted suicide is gaining traction around the world, bringing striking cases
of abuse”. You can read more
here.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What is euthanasia and utilitarian medicine?
Does utilitarian medicine violate the Hippocratic Oath?
Does utilitarian medicine also include hormone therapy for children, teens, and adults who are “gender confused”?
Are the elderly the most effected population?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
Title: Part 2 of 2 - Fighting Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia
Topic: Assisted Suicide
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Wesley Smith has been fighting this battle for 25 years. Is he ready to retire?
Or will he keep fighting until the bitter end?
Is there hope? Where has successful pushback against euthanasia and assisted
suicide been evidenced?
What are Wesley’s thoughts on cloning?
Should we be praying for our elected officials concerning this very important
issue? Listen as Wesley reveals that four (4) rivers have now been granted
rights as “people”. The same should be granted to every human being!
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
January 17, 2018
Title: Human Trafficking and Slavery are Real in America
Topic: Human Trafficking and Slavery
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Disclaimer: Use caution when listening to this segment around young children. Issues discussed might be upsetting or hard for little ones to understand.
President Trump recently proclaimed January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, a move that Wesley J. Smith applauds. Wesley is a writer at the
National Review and a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute.
“Human exceptionalism holds that every one of us is inherently equal, both in moral value and properly under the law. Or to put it another way, no human being should ever be treated as an object, only and always a subject,” Smith wrote in his daily blog at
National Review.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Someone once shared a horrific true story about “children kept in hanging bamboo cages” with Wesley J. Smith. Listen as he shares why this impacted him so deeply and what he decided to do about it.
How many people are being trafficked across the world today? HINT: The number is in the tens of millions!
Are 80% of those being trafficked or enslaved women?
How many children are trafficked?
What is “The Blue Campaign”?
What are some of the indicators that a person is being trafficked?
Do stronger borders deter human trafficking?
How can we be involved?
If you suspect someone is being trafficked, please do not hesitate to report it: 1.866.347.2423
NOTE: Do NOT approach either the trafficker or the person being trafficked.
If you are being forced to do something against your will, please call for help today: 1.888.373.7888
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
February 26, 2014
Title: Animal Rights Activists Seek Personhood for Pigs
Topic: Animal Rights Gone Crazy
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Part 1 of 2
Author and blog writer Wesley J. Smith warns that the moral distinction between human beings and animals is under attack by a radical animal-rights movement. If they have their way, animals will be bringing lawsuits against men.
Animal-rights groups say they seek only the "ethical treatment of animals," but many activists portray terrorists in their fight for an ideology that dangerously undermines human welfare and the unique value of human life.
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
Title: Part 2 of 2
Topic: Animal Rights Gone Crazy
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
As Christians, we should love and respect all of God’s creatures. But, what is the difference between animal welfare and animal rights? And why do animal rights activists seem to resort to such violent behavior?
We will be walking a fine line if we allow “animal rights” to coexist with “human rights”. Wesley Smith says that the recognition of the unique value of human life is important to the Christian worldview.
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
February 15, 2010
Title: A RAT IS A PIG IS A DOG IS A BOY Part 1 of 2
Topic: Book Review
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
The moral distinction between human beings and animals is under attack by a radical animal-rights movement. Author Wesley J. Smith is a leading expert on the legal and scientific threats to the dignity of human life. For more on Wesley, log on to www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
Title: A RAT IS A PIG IS A DOG IS A BOY Part 2 of 2
Topic: Book Review
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
Is animal research really necessary? What are Christians called to pursue: animal rights or animal welfare? For more on this and other social issues affecting our economy, log on to www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
December 21, 2005
Title: Personhood Theory
Topic: Personhood Theory
Discussed by Wesley J. Smith
with Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org)
For more log onto www.WesleyJSmith.com The Discovery Institute's Wesley Smith maintains that the US was founded on the premise of the great value of human life and that all human life, regardless of mental or physical capacity, is important. In bioethics and higher education circles, the idea known as personhood theory is taking hold. Personhood theory reduces the value of life to some determined level of cognitive capacity. Most hospitals now have "futile care committees" which determines who will continue to receive care. In Texas, if the hospital says your loved one will no longer receive care, you have 10 days to find another hospital to take your loved one - or they will die!
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization