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

Force Pregnant Girls to Have Abortions, Says Ethics Article

Wesley J. Smith
March 27, 2026
6
Abortion
The push for unlimited abortion access is now advancing beyond the issue of “choice.” A newly published article in Ethics, the University of Chicago Press’s prestigious peer-reviewed journal, argues that pregnant minors must abort — even if that requires coercion and force. The authors, a University of British Columbia philosophy professor and an aspiring philosopher, emphasize the fact that minors are children. From “Justice for Girls: On Provision of Abortion as Adequate Care” (citations omitted, my emphases): Both opponents of abortion and liberal defenders of a woman’s right to control her own body make a mistake in relation to impregnated children. They both overlook that an impregnated girl is a child. As such, the adults responsible for …

Do Rape, Incest, and Life of the Mother Justify Abortion? A Bioethicist Responds with Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Arina Grossu Agnew
March 24, 2026
2
Bioethics

Wisconsin Governor Vetoes Anti-“Nature Rights” Legislation

Wesley J. Smith
March 23, 2026
3
Nature and Conservation

Jan Jekielek on China’s Forced Organ Harvesting Atrocity

Jan Jekielek
March 23, 2026
2

Article in The Lancet Decries Bioethics Conference for Not Condemning Genocide

Wesley J. Smith
March 21, 2026
2
Bioethics

University Pushes “Tree Rights”

Wesley J. Smith
March 18, 2026
5
Nature and Conservation

More posts ….

Podcast

Jan Jekielek on China’s Forced Organ Harvesting Atrocity

Jan Jekielek
March 23, 2026
In one of the great atrocities in human history, Chinese political prisoners are tissue-typed and later murdered and harvested to supply the country’s thriving organ transplant black market. How long have regime enemies been so targeted and how does the system work? For years, that has been difficult to discern fully. China is one of the world’s most secretive societies and unequivocal answers have proved elusive. Until now. Wesley’s guest Jan Jekielek has written a crucial book — Killed to Order: China’s Organ Harvesting Industry and the True Nature of America’s Biggest Adversary — in which he explains in detail how the organ harvesting system operates, who benefits, why the government permits such cruelty, and what can be done about it. Jekielek …

The Trouble with Transhumanism: Wesley J. Smith’s Guest Appearance on Bioethics Babe

Wesley J. Smith
March 9, 2026
Turnabout is fair play, they say. So on this episode of Humanize, Wesley is the guest, interviewed by the “Bioethics Babe,” the podcast of Center on Human Exceptionalism Fellow Arina Grossu Agnew. Arina and Wesley discuss the nature of transhumanism, its philosophical, moral, and political implications, its role as a substitute for religion, its threat to human equality, and whether we are quietly waging a war on human equality in the name of progress. Is transhumanism the next frontier of progress or a revival of eugenics in a biotech age? In this episode of Bioethics Babe, I sit down with attorney, award-winning author, and Humanize podcast host Wesley J. Smith to unpack the growing transhumanist movement, the push to engineer a “post-human” future …

Melissa Ortiz on the Disability Rights Movement

Melissa Ortiz
February 23, 2026
Disability rights is a global social and civil rights movement that advocates for equal opportunities, accessibility, and freedom from discrimination. The goal is to ensure that people with disabilities participate fully and equally in society free from barriers in employment, healthcare, architecture, and education. It has been more than thirty-five years since President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act. Yet, despite many years of advocacy, the scope, breadth, and goals of the movement are less known than activism for racial and sex equality. So, Wesley thought he would look into the movement to recount its successes and goals yet to be achieved. His guest is Melissa Ortiz, founder and principal of Capability Consulting, an award-winning speaker, and a …

Events

More Events …

Links