The Center for Bioethics and Culture | Thoughts on the role of science, technology, and medicine for the human future, and uses that promote human flourishing and the common good. The views expressed here acknowledge belief in the inviolability of human life and the dignity of all human beings.

Opportunities and Challenges

The last six weeks have been packed with both new opportunities and challenges. You are helping to sustain me. Each team member of CBC sees that doors are opening in ways that were almost unthinkable even a year ago. Challenging cultural thought can be full of surprises. Be encouraged with us!

Money Changes Everything

When the news broke that Mitt and Ann Romney welcomed grandchildren numbers 17 and 18 this past Friday via "gestational surrogacy," those of us here at CBC central—who oppose commercialized conception—wondered where the bottom is in these murky waters of assisted reproduction.

Tiny, Happy People

Just when you think you have heard it all, someone pushes the envelope. According to three ethicists writing in the journal Ethics, Policy and the Environment, because geoengineering might be too risky a way to combat global climate change, we should alter the human species instead.

Anonymous International

I am happy to report that three months after its release, Anonymous Father's Day has now sold in nearly a dozen countries. I suppose this isn't surprising given the international scope of anonymous sperm donation.

For example, in the Australian state of Victoria, a parliamentary committee has recommended that donor-conceived persons should be told the identity of their biological parent, even if the sperm donor was originally promised anonymity.

Babies without Sex

So much is being discussed these days in the arena of bioethics that I thought I would add yet another cultural trend I find particularly disturbing, babies without sex.

Anonymous Father's Day

Thousands of donor-conceived people have a deep longing to know who they belong to, where they come from, and who they look like. What is it like to grow up not knowing who your biological father is or if you have any siblings? What is it like to find out that the man you thought was your dad is not your biological father, that your true biological father donated his sperm and is known only by a number? How does it impact your self-perception, the choices you make, and your view of life and the world?

Eggsploitation

The infertility industry in the United States has grown to a multi-billion dollar business. What is its main commodity? Human eggs. Young women all over the world are solicited by ads—via college campus bulletin boards, social media, online classifieds—offering up to $100,000 for their “donated” eggs, to “help make someone’s dream come true.” But who is this egg donor? Is she treated justly? What are the short- and long-term risks to her health?

Lines That Divide

Stem cell research: A potential miracle cure for diseases or a form of biological colonialism? The debate still rages over this controversial science. Supporters argue that it is our moral duty to pursue scientific progress that provides healing hope for humanity. Detractors argue that the ends don't justify the means in harvesting some human life to save others. This documentary seeks to educate the public on the scientific basics of stem cell research and the moral issues surrounding it as we enter the 21st century.

Opportunities and Challenges

Money Changes Everything

Tiny, Happy People

Anonymous International

Babies without Sex

Anonymous Father's Day

Eggsploitation

Lines That Divide

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