// Commentary Archive

New York's $600 Million Question
Father Thomas Berg, LC, PHD

This commentary was originally published on 5/12/08 in National Review Online.

When Dr. Bertram Lubin, head of the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, applied for a $5 million facilities grant last fall from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to support his research on sickle-cell anemia, his colleagues thought the application was a slam dunk ... more >

A Brief Primer on the Natural Law (Part II)
Chris Oleson Ph.D
Posted January 25, 2008

Readers of the first installment of this short introduction to the rudiments of natural law ethics will remember that I tried to end the piece with a gripping cliff-hanger of a conundrum: How is it possible, I asked, if the natural law is supposed to be a source of moral insight that is naturally knowable to all people, that it is so widely repudiated today?
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Thirty-Five and Losing Strength
Chris Oleson Ph.D
Posted January 25, 2008

Roe v. Wade is 35 years old, an age when one's opinions are expected to be settled. But although Roe is settled juridically for the time being, its manifest unsettledness in the hearts and minds of Americans continues to divide our nation. Roe 's imposed liberties have divided our national politics into pro-life and pro-choice. Our 50 states are designated red or blue depending in large measure on how the majority feel about Roe ... more >

A Brief Primer on the Natural Law
Chris Oleson Ph.D
Posted February 19, 2008

If there is one ethical doctrine that is alien to the bleak landscape of contemporary moral discourse, it is surely the classical doctrine of natural law. Only on the rarest of occasions does one hear of a politician or mainstream political commentator even mention the concept, much less show any sign of taking it seriously or recognizing its relevance to discussions about the common good of society ... more >

A Quibble with 'Faith in America '
Chris Oleson Ph.D
Posted December 13, 2007

There are many things in Gov. Mitt Romney's recent speech, 'Faith in America ' that are justly to be praised. As others have pointed out, the explicit call for vibrant participation of religiously informed citizens is chief among them. ...more>

"A New Day"
Father Thomas Berg, LC, M.A., Ph.D.
Posted November 20, 2007

I've already been using this expression several times in the past 48 hours, even at the risk of it sounding so cliché-ish. But I consider it neither a cliché nor an exaggeration to say that a new has indeed dawned in the world of stem cell research, and consequently, in every civilized culture where stem cell research thrives. ... more >

"On Newsweek & the Death Penalty"
E. Christian Brugger, D.Phil
Posted November 01, 2007

In an encyclical otherwise not known for its enthusiasm about cultural trends in regard to issues of life and death, John Paul II's 1995 encyclical Evangelium vitae praises what he calls two "signs of hope" increasingly being expressed at the level of popular public opinion ... more >

"Genetic Manipulation "
Markus Grompe, MD
Posted October 10, 2007

Genetic manipulation of many species, including mammals (adding genes, changing genes, deleting genes) has been possible for more than a decade. People have made artificial chromosomes and added them to yeast, bacteria, mice etc. more >

"Dearth of Eggs"
Maureen L. Condic, Ph.D.
Posted October 5, 2007

A recent New York Times editorial bemoans the fact that despite a $100,000 advertising campaign mounted by "respected stem cell researchers at Harvard", not a single woman has elected to submit to the medically risky and physically painful procedure of egg donation for the benefit of scientific research. The editorial refers to this situation as the "vexing egg donor problem" that is egregiously slowing the pace of embryonic stem cell research. more >