Bioethics

AI gets most of the attention, but biotechnology may be even more impactful on the human future. Indeed, I think it is the most powerful technology since the splitting of the atom — perhaps even in history, as it has the potential to literally alter the human race or any cell/organism — which could cure diseases or unleash an unstoppable pandemic. Attention must be paid. Some biotechnologists are intent on pursuing radical biotechnologies — whether to eliminate disease, or as I expect to become the bigger, more remunerative draw, to create designer babies enhanced to be smarter, more beautiful, or otherwise made to order — regardless of the ethical questions. A long piece in The Guardian illustrates the stakes we Read More ›

Egg freezing is sold as empowerment. A way to “pause” fertility, focus on career and relationships, and have children later on your own timeline. But what if that promise isn’t as secure as women are being told? In this explosive episode of Bioethics Babe, Jennifer Lahl, founder of the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network and director of the documentary Eggsploitation, exposes the risks, realities, and ethical questions surrounding the rapidly growing egg freezing industry. We discuss: Is egg freezing truly empowering women, or is it selling the illusion that biology can be postponed without consequence? This conversation dives into the science, ethics, medicine, and cultural assumptions behind one of the fastest-growing reproductive technologies in the world. For Episode Resources, Read More ›

What happens when science gains the power not only to heal human life, but to redesign it? Scientists are now creating lab-made embryos from stem cells, experimenting with three-parent embryos, pursuing gene editing technologies like CRISPR, and exploring ways to grow human life outside the womb. What once sounded like science fiction is rapidly becoming reality. In this episode of Bioethics Babe, internationally recognized stem cell researcher and bioethics expert Dr. David Prentice of the Science Alliance for Life and Technology (SALT) exposes the ethical dangers behind lab-made embryos, designer babies, germline gene editing, fetal tissue research, embryo selection, IVF commodification, and modern eugenics. We discuss: At what point does medicine stop treating disease and start redefining what kinds of Read More ›

What do you do when doctors tell you there’s “no hope”? When former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum and his wife Karen received a Trisomy 18 diagnosis for their daughter Bella, they were told she had a condition “incompatible with life.” They were encouraged to prepare for her death. But Bella lived. Now she’s turning 18 years old, something many doctors never expected she would see. In this deeply personal episode of Bioethics Babe, Sen. Rick Santorum shares the emotional and spiritual journey of raising Bella, the medical and cultural pressures families often face after a prenatal diagnosis, and how one little girl transformed their marriage, family, and understanding of human dignity. This conversation explores not only Trisomy Read More ›

These days, it seems that everything is about bioethics. Case in point: A zoologist named Sam Zeveloff has criticized RFK Jr. in Stat News for disrespecting a dead raccoon back in 2001 by allegedly dissecting its penis. This act, the emeritus professor claims, raises “critical questions” that must be addressed.

Oh my. One wonders about the possible moral stakes of this historical cadaveric mutilation.

Such phallus-collecting, we are told by Zeveloff, is fine so long as it’s done for a valid scientific or educational purpose. In fact, the author brags that he has collected raccoon phalluses himself, some of which are displayed at the Icelandic Phallological Museum. Okaaay.

But Kennedy’s cadaveric collecting wasn’t, from a bioethical standpoint, properly “scientific”:

If Kennedy collected a racoon specimen without a defined scientific or educational purpose, the ethical justification becomes less clear. Indeed, the public has no idea about why he would stop a car filled with his family members and cut out a raccoon’s penis from a carcass.

What do you do when the questions never go away? Suicide doesn’t just leave grief in its wake. It leaves silence, confusion, and questions that don’t have clear answers. Could I have done something? Did I miss something? Where was God? In this deeply personal conversation, Dr. Brick Lantz, orthopedic surgeon, bioethicist, and author of Raw Musings: Journaling Following My Son’s Suicide, shares what it was like to lose his son, and what it means to keep living after the unthinkable. This is not a conversation with easy answers. It’s a conversation about grief that doesn’t resolve neatly, faith that wrestles, and the slow, difficult path forward. We discuss: If you or someone you know is struggling, you don’t have Read More ›

Uterine transplants are becoming more common to enable infertile women — and perhaps, eventually men — to give birth. How’s that project going? A new study detailing the outcomes of more than 40 cases of uterine transplants and subsequent IVF-enabled pregnancies published in JAMA provides details: Between 2016 and March 2026, a total of 44 women underwent uterus transplant. One month after uterus transplant, 37 women had a viable transplanted uterus. As of April 2026, a total of 33 women underwent embryo transfer (90 embryos), resulting in 47 clinical pregnancies in 31 unique women, 39 of which continued to at least 14 weeks’ gestation. In 27 unique women, there were 31 live births: 23 women delivered 1 child and 4 Read More ›

David Morens was formerly a senior adviser to Anthony Fauci when he was the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Morens also co-authored several science papers with the former director. One of these argued hubristically in Cell that the U.N. and the World Health Organization should be empowered to “rebuild the structure of human existence” toward the end of preventing future pandemics. Imagine the bureaucratic possibilities! Back in 2024, Morens was suspected of avoiding FOIA requests around the funding of gain-of-function research that might have led to Covid. Soon thereafter, Fauci distanced himself from his former colleague in congressional testimony, stating that while Morens had helped with some science papers, he wasn’t really an adviser Read More ›

What happens when parents hear the words, “Something may be wrong with your baby?” In this episode of Bioethics Babe, we sit down with board-certified neonatologist and pediatrician Dr. Robin Pierucci to unpack what really happens after a prenatal diagnosis. From life expectancy predictions and medical uncertainty to the emotional shock families experience, this conversation exposes the hidden pressures shaping decisions before a child is even born. Are parents being fully informed or unintentionally influenced? Drawing on decades of experience in the NICU, Dr. Pierucci founded Navigating Fetal Concerns, and reveals how diagnoses are communicated, where bias can enter the conversation, and why a diagnosis is not the same as a prognosis. We also explore the trauma families face, the Read More ›

On April 20, Wesley J. Smith appeared on Ave Maria in the Afternoon, hosted by Marcus B. Peter, to discuss his recent article, “Bioethicists Argue That an Unborn Baby Is Merely a ‘Gestator’s’ Body Part.” Smith explains how the authors of a recent Journal of Medical Ethics article employed philosophy to redefine human life, defying the established definitions of science. He also explores the political and legislative implications if this changed definition is accepted. “We can make metaphysical claims, we can make moral claims,” Smith told Peter, “but they should not be such that we deny basic biology and, of course, the claim of a soul does nothing of the kind. But the claim that this is a mere body Read More ›