Bioethics/Sanctity of Human Life Archive
(Note: The following section may contain links to external Web sites. Referrals to sites not produced by Focus on the Family are for informational purposes only, and do not constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)A look at the latest in stem cell research.
While this topic is complex, it is important to understand the basic concepts of stem cell research and the potential danger that allowing research on human embryos poses to all of us.
New studies threaten to undermine everything you've been told about embryonic stem cell research. The following is a must read for anyone interested in the whole story on stem cell research.
For most of us, what we know about the stem cell debate comes from the news media. But, do you wonder what scientists are discovering in regard to stem cell research?
"Living Will" Declaration vs. Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
An understanding of the cloning process is vital to answering the question, "Why should Congress pass a comprehensive cloning ban?"
Focus on the Family opposes stem cell research using human embryos. In order for scientists to isolate and culture embryonic stem cells, a living, human embryo must be killed.
A summary of disease and injury advocacy groups' positions on stem cell research.
Not sure what you think of "customized stem cell lines"? Get the facts on the latest cloning experiment.
An overview of the ethical and scriptural basis for this basic tenet of Christian bioethics.
After fighting cancer for 10 years; after suffering through multiple courses of toxic drugs; after two stem-cell transplants and 16 dismal weeks in a hospital room, tied to tangles of tubes, I've only scratched the surface of Terri Schiavo's misery. Dear, if I ever become like Terri, please don't pull my feeding tube.
Boundless
Pastors who want to speak to bioethical issues may refer to and use these sermon outlines created by Focus on the Family staff.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me. ...”
It's not natural for women to kill their preborn children through abortion. Yet, difficult circumstances often cause us to listen to other voices rather than our own hearts.
Legislation passes that protects individuals' genetic privacy.
Recent breakthroughs in ethical research are making embryonic stem cells a thing of the past.
A brief look at the abortion pill, RU-486.
For more than 30 years — since the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional state laws prohibiting abortion — abortion opponents have debated, protested and worked to reverse the legal status of abortion. During this time, the Supreme Court has granted states latitude to enact a variety of laws including parental involvement for minors and uniform counseling before an abortion.
Who could have predicted the bitter fruit and tragedy that would come from legalized abortion? After thirty years, the aftermath demands examination.
How many abortions have occurred in the U.S. since legalization in 1973? What are some characteristics of women who have abortions?
Abortion is often touted as "safe" but is it? Here are the stories of some women who learned the hard way that abortion can be a deadly choice.
A new cloning technique could change the debate over destructive embryonic stem cell research.
After 30 years of legalized abortion in the United States, the American public is still divided. What drives this ongoing opposition to abortion?
While clutching the baby’s upper body, the abortionist "takes a pair of blunt curved Metzenbaum scissors. . . ."
Is it truly contraception or it is abortion? The debate over "emergency contraception" may hinge on a single definition.
The merging of two biotechnologies poses a dangerous combination as parents are allowed to screen their offspring and discard those that fail the test.
Do women have a right to know the medical risks associated with abortion?
As Christopher Reeve is remembered for his role as a fictional superhero, another man struggling with his own life-altering illness may be remembered as a superman for life.
What physical and psychological risks do women take when they have an abortion? The range of possible complications may surprise you.
Terri Schiavo's fight for life was widely publicized in the media but did you know the facts?
Embryonic stem cells have not cured or successfully treated a single patient. Contrast that with the more than 70 conditions that are treatable using non-embryonic stem cell therapies.
Do you know what the terms of the stem cell debate actually mean?
Discussing your wishes for medical decision-making in case you are ever unable to make your own decisions is an important task. This document will help you facilitate discussion with your loved ones on these difficult issues.
As the range of genetic testing options continues to expand, genetic counseling can be beneficial to people who desire to know more about genetic diseases and testing options.
What is the difference between genetic testing and genetic screening? What types of testing are available? As new tests are developed, the use of genetic testing continues to expand.
What do you do if a loved one cannot make his or her own medical decisions due to an injury or terminal illness? How can you make the right choices for them? This information sheet may provide guidance in making these medical decisions.
While some hail preimplantation genetic diagnosis as the newest method to ensure that couples do not pass genetic disorders on to their children, a closer look will reveal troubling details for those who value the sanctity of life.
Hearing on Advances in Adult and Non-Embryonic Stem Cell Research: U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
Ask the Victims
Citizen, October 2000
This book provides an unprecedented collection of thoughtful and sometimes painfully honest essays, evaluating the pro-life cause thirty years after Roe v. Wade. Contributing writers are the movement's most respected leaders, including Dr. James Dobson, Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Nat Hentoff, Dr. Mildred Jefferson, Congressman Chris Smith, Phyllis Schlafly, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Paul Weyrich, and Jean Garton, among others.
This on-line article addresses some of the challenges of genetic medicine, including the diagnosis/therapy gap, confidentiality, and prenatal screening.
Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity
Coming Wave of Grief Over Abortions
Citizen Magazine
Smith’s background in consumer advocacy and training in law provide a critical combination as he challenges the “brave new bioethics” of utilitarianism, the quality of life ethic and the futile care theory.
The advent of "designer babies" raises questions for parents, researchers and the public. This on-line article examines some of the issues involved.
Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity
Dr. Dobson’s Position on Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Focus on the Family monthly newsletter
A Focus over Fifty Web Article
After fighting cancer for 10 years; after suffering through multiple courses of toxic drugs; after two stem-cell transplants and 16 dismal weeks in a hospital room, tied to tangles of tubes, I've only scratched the surface of Terri Schiavo's misery. Dear, if I ever become like Terri, please don't pull my feeding tube.
Boundless
Some say Mark Pickup's multiple sclerosis could be wiped away through what scientists learn from testing embryonic stem cells. So why does he travel the country to speak against that research?
Citizen magazine
Post Abortion Coverup
This book examines the physiology of pain, debunks myths about controlling it and details your rights and responsibilities as a patient.
International Task Force
Science and the Ethics of Human Cloning
What kind of science is Senator Frist using to defend his position on embryonic stem cell reseaarch?
WorldNetDaily
You've heard that frozen embryos left over from in vitro fertilization are routinely discarded. So how did several end up crawling on the floor of Congress?
Citizen magazine
As scientific knowledge increases, new ways of deriving stem cells are offered. Here is a summary of the current "alternative" ways to create stem cells.
Proponents of embryonic stem cell research say destroying human embryos is the key to healing disease and restoring lost function. Critics say these goals can be reached without destroying any lives along the way.
Focus on the Family Magazine
Susan B. Anthony: Pro-Life Feminist
Focus on the Family Magazine
Pro-life lawmakers Dave Weldon of Florida and Sam Brownback of Kansas are leading an all-out Capitol Hill assault on human cloning.
Citizen magazine
Trace a baby's first nine months of development: from fertilization to birth.
A molecular geneticist ponders the impact of the Human Genome Project on the future of genetics and medicine. An on-line article from the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity.
Society’s acceptance of abortion denies women a true choice in an unexpected pregnancy. Abortion will never be rare as long as we allow it to be the cultural default position.
Note: President Bush signed the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" into law April 1, 2004. Scott Peterson was convicted of murder in the deaths of his wife and preborn son, and sentenced to death in March 2005. The following background on the issue of fetal homicide was written prior to passage of the federal law and Peterson's conviction and sentencing.
The faces of Laci and Conner Peterson, Holly Patterson and Terri Schiavo serve to remind us of the importance of pro-life public policy.
Eighteen-year old Holly Patterson entered a Planned Parenthood clinic on a Wednesday expecting to safely abort her pregnancy. Within one week, she was dead.
Some scientists appear determined to take us down the road to human cloning, regardless of where that load leads. This commentary examines some of the perils that face us on the path.
This commentary aired on the Focus on the Family radio broadcast, “Family News in Focus” in April 2005
The Courts: No Constitutional Right to Assisted Suicide
A Focus on the Family Position Statement
More than a decade after the first approved gene therapy experiment, much uncertainly still exists about gene therapy's ability to treat critically ill patients.
Although technological constraints have limited scientists in their ability to use gene therapy consistently and successfully, there have been numerous studies showing the potential of gene therapy to treat a wide array of diseases. Along with technological considerations, there are many ethical questions that are generated by this technology.
British scientists are working on a treatment that may one day allow parents to cure their child’s disease before birth.
