Wesley J. Smith

Wesley J. Smith (born 1949) is an American lawyer and author, a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center on Human Exceptionalism, a politically conservative, non-profit think tank. He is also a consultant for the Patients Rights Council.[1] Smith is known for his criticism of animal rights, environmentalism, assisted suicide and utilitarian bioethics. He is also the host of the Humanize podcast.

Smith has authored or co-authored fourteen books. He formerly collaborated with consumer advocate Ralph Nader, and has been published in regional and national outlets such as The New York Times,[2] Newsweek,[3] The Wall Street Journal,[4] USA Today,[5] the San Francisco Chronicle,[6] The Seattle Times,[7] the New York Post,[8] and others.[9] He is also well known for his blog, "Human Exceptionalism", hosted by National Review, which advances his theory of "human exceptionalism" and defends intrinsic human dignity. He is a critic of those he labels "mainstream" bioethicists such as Peter Singer,[10] Julian Savulescu,[11] Jacob M. Appel,[12] and R. Alta Charo.[13] He has also been highly critical of science writer Matt Ridley.[14]

  1. ^ Source: International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, See, Amicus Brief of the International Anti Euthanasia Task Force before the Supreme Court of the United States, Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702 (1997).
  2. ^ New York Times,"Depressed? Don't Go See Dr. Kevorkian," September 16, 1995.
  3. ^ Newsweek, "Whispers of Strangers," June 28, 1993.
  4. ^ For example, see Wall Street Journal, "Dependency or Death? Oregonians Make a Chilling Choice" February 25, 1999.
  5. ^ For example, see USA Today, "Are We Becoming Numb to Kevorkian's Actions?" September 15, 1997.
  6. ^ For example, see San Francisco Chronicle, "Experimenting With Live Patients," October 22, 2006.
  7. ^ For example, see Seattle Times, "Assisted Suicide is Bad Medicine," March 26, 2006.
  8. ^ For example, see New York Post, "Slanting the Science," June 22, 2001.
  9. ^ For full list and URLs of opinion columns since June 2002, see "Articles Archives" at [1].
  10. ^ Wesley J. Smith (April 26, 2008). "Peter Singer Cleans Up: Pushing Death Pays". wesleyjsmith.com. Secondhand Smoke: Your 24/7 Seminar on Bioethics and the Importance of Being Human. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  11. ^ Wesley J. Smith (July 1, 2008). "It Pays to be a Eugenicist". wesleyjsmith.com. Secondhand Smoke: Your 24/7 Seminar on Bioethics and the Importance of Being Human. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  12. ^ Wesley J. Smith (June 28, 2007). "Pushing for Assisted Suicide on Demand". wesleyjsmith.com. Secondhand Smoke: Your 24/7 Seminar on Bioethics and the Importance of Being Human. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  13. ^ Wesley J. Smith (March 20, 2009). "Hubris and "Endarkenment" in Science Editorial". wesleyjsmith.com. Secondhand Smoke: Your 24/7 Seminar on Bioethics and the Importance of Being Human. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  14. ^ Blinded by Science, National Review, June 16, 2003