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

Brain-Dead Mother’s Baby Is Born

Wesley J. Smith
June 19, 2025
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Abortion
Last month, I wrote about Adriana Smith, the pregnant young mother who tragically experienced blood clots in the brain and was declared dead by neurological criteria. Adriana’s body was maintained with mechanical support to allow her baby to be gestated. I thought that was the right decision. Here is how I analyzed the situation in my post: Adriana is not being harmed. Her baby’s life is precious. The baby will be viable in the next several weeks. Potential disability does not make the baby’s life less important. We allow the bodies of people declared dead by neurological criteria to be maintained for organ donation, so why not gestation? Both are gifts of life. The crucial question is consent. Would Adriana have wanted her death to kill her …

SPLC Hatefully Labels Focus on the Family a Hate Group

Wesley J. Smith
June 13, 2025
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Religious Freedom

U.N. Human Rights Chief Pushes Nature Rights

Wesley J. Smith
June 11, 2025
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Nature and Conservation

How to Save the Hospice Movement

Wesley J. Smith
June 10, 2025
4
Health Care

Alex Schadenberg and Roger Foley on the Cruelty of Canada’s Euthanasia Regime

Alex Schadenberg and Roger Foley
June 9, 2025
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Council of Paris Wants France to Grant “Rights” to the Seine

Wesley J. Smith
June 9, 2025
3
Nature and Conservation

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Podcast

Alex Schadenberg and Roger Foley on the Cruelty of Canada’s Euthanasia Regime

Alex Schadenberg and Roger Foley
June 9, 2025
Euthanasia is bad medicine and even worse public policy. Once a society accepts the principle that killing is a splendid answer to suffering, the kinds and extent of suffering that come to be seen as appropriate reasons to cause death expands continually. Often, this suicide agenda — let’s call it — advances so slowly that, over time, people become acclimated to policies that were once unthinkable. But that has not been the case in Canada, where the government and much of the population enthusiastically embraced what the law euphemistically calls medical assistance in dying, or MAID. As a result, the “slippery slope” can be seen slip sliding away in real time to the unfortunate point that euthanasia is now the fifth leading cause of death in Canada. Indeed, in …

George Gilder on Artificial Intelligence, Economic Innovation, and the Promise of Cryptocurrency

George Gilder
May 28, 2025
We live in an era of cultural whiplash. Never has the potential for technological advances been more pronounced, and at the same time, the potential for wrenching societal dislocations so threatening. What are we to make of such times as these? Should we be excited or fearful, optimistic or quaking in our boots? For answers, Wesley turned to George Gilder, one of America’s most prominent and innovative thinkers about technology and the economy and a co-founder of Discovery Institute where he directs Discovery’s Technology and Democracy Project and is a senior fellow of the Center on Wealth and Poverty. Mr. Gilder attended Exeter Academy and Harvard University. At Harvard, he studied under Henry Kissinger and helped found Advance, a journal of political thought. In the …

Andrew V. Abela on the “Super Habits” That Make for a Successful Life

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Dr. Andrew V. Abela
May 12, 2025
These days, hedonism strikes a beat in society. We have long been told that if it feels good, if it is what we want, so long as we aren’t hurting others, then, we should do it. But does that kind of self-indulgence really lead to a successful and satisfying life? Wesley’s guest on this episode of Humanize, Dr. Andrew V. Abela, doesn’t think so. To avoid dysfunction and lead a truly happy and satisfying life, Dr. Abela suggests developing and practicing what he calls “super habits” that can aid us all in making wise decisions, managing emotions, and interacting with other people. In fact, he has written a book to explain it all — Superhabits: The Universal System for a Successful Life. Andrew Abela is the founding dean of the Busch School of Business …

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