Center on Human Exceptionalism

The mission of Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism is to affirm and uphold the intrinsic nature of human dignity, liberty, and equality. In resistance to a growing movement against unique human personhood, we aim to revitalize a commitment to the traditional Western view of human rights and human responsibilities — summed up by the term “human exceptionalism.” Read more

Humanize

JAMA Article Pushes for Over-the-Counter Abortion Pills

Wesley J. Smith
February 5, 2025
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Abortion
Taking abortion pills can lead to dangerous side effects, perhaps even death. Which is why the process of chemical abortion — called “medical” by pro-abortion advocates — is supposed to occur only under the guidance of a doctor. Indeed, post-Dobbs, women died because of improperly supervised chemical abortions, wrongly blamed by the media and pro-abortion advocates on pro-life laws. But the medical establishment is so invested in unlimited abortion that JAMA Internal Medicine just published an advocacy article calling for the two drugs used in chemical abortions to be available over the counter: A growing body of evidence indicates that mifepristone and misoprostol meet the FDA’s criteria for OTC sale. The medications are not addictive, and the user …

Will We Starve Dementia Patients in Slow Motion?

Wesley J. Smith
February 4, 2025
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Euthanasia

New Zealand Mountain Named a “Person” with “Rights” and “Responsibilities”

Wesley J. Smith
January 31, 2025
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Nature and Conservation

Trump Protects Gender-Dysphoric Children from the Mutilation of “Gender-Affirming Care”

Wesley J. Smith
January 30, 2025
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Transgenderism

Colorado Supremes Unanimously Nix Elephant Personhood

Wesley J. Smith
January 27, 2025
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Animal Welfare

Trump Withdraws from the World Health Organization

Wesley J. Smith
January 27, 2025
2
Public Health

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Podcast

Former CDC Director Robert R. Redfield on Viruses, Vaccines, the COVID Epidemic, and Distrust in Public Health

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Robert R. Redfield
January 27, 2025
The public health sector has been roiled by controversy and political turmoil in the last few years, what with the COVID pandemic, the fight over vaccine mandates, and questions about politicization of the sector. Beyond that, viruses make the news like never before. So, Wesley turned to an expert in both fields to learn more about virology, the government’s response to COVID, and the potential threat of bird flu. Robert R. Redfield, M.D., is a virologist. He has been a public health leader actively engaged in clinical research and clinical care of chronic human viral infections and infectious diseases, especially HIV, for more than 30 years. From 2018-2021, Dr. Redfield served as the 18th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and …

Is There a Difference Between “Mind” and “Brain”?

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Brian R. Krouse, Angus J. Menuge, and Michael R. Egnor
January 13, 2025
What is the “mind”? Is it a pure product of raw brain activity? Or, is it something “other” — that can be experienced, but not measured, observed but not fully defined? Does free will exist? Are our brains just so many meat computers? A new anthology, Minding the Brain, explores these and related issues in depth — both from philosophical and scientific viewpoints — explaining how and why “mind” and “brain” are distinct things. Three of the contributors to the book — all Discovery Institute colleagues — join Wesley on Humanize to discuss this fascinating topic. Editor and Contributor Brian R. Krouse is a software engineer with research interests in the philosophy of the mind, computer science, and neuroscience. He has a …

Dr. Kristin M. Collier on the Importance of Recognizing the Patient as a “Person”

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Dr. Kristin M. Collier
December 16, 2024
Medicine and healthcare have become one of the most contentious sectors of modern society. Doctors have greater scientific knowledge with which to help patients than at any time in history. But at the same time, the field seems to be heading in a more crassly technocratic direction, in which the human being seeking care may become lost in the attempt to heal the patient’s bodily systems. One doctor is working to return medicine to its more humane roots. Kristin M. Collier, MD, FACP is an associate professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she serves as the director of the University of Michigan Medical School Program on Health, Spirituality and Religion. She is also an associate program director of the Internal Medicine Residency …

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