There has been a noticeable shift over the past fifty years concerning those whom society, and the media, look to as authority figures, as sources of truth and values. For centuries pastors and priests were seen as sources of
The demands of the homosexual lobby never seem to diminish, and their determined war of attrition is paying off handsomely. One area which has eluded them however is that of complete access to children (via adoption
In the March 29 Melbourne Age there appeared an article by Peter Singer entitled “Why we should ignore the Catholic Church on stem cells”. In it he took the Catholic Church in general, and Archbishop Hart in particular, to task
An extremely revealing and disturbing television documentary was aired on America’s Public Broadcasting System in February of last year. Entitled The Merchants of Cool, the show examined the way big business and the advertising industry have targeted our young
Euthanasia is not about making sick and dying people as pain free and comfortable as possible. That is what is known as palliative care, and that is something which is improving all the time. Euthanasia is about allowing other people
In the past few decades the advances in bio-technology and genetics have been astounding. The scientific and technical breakthroughs have far out-stripped our ability to consider their ethical ramifications. The developments in the Human Genome project alone are
We live in an age in which rights are being pushed on all fronts. Individuals and groups are clamoring for rights that until recently didn’t even exist. Much of the “rights industry” has developed around so-called social justice and discrimination
While there are many good books on bioethics, not all are of equal value. Many quite good books on the subject are written in highly technical jargon, making them less than useful for the common reader. Even those
In any cultural battle, truth, or the lack of it, will strongly determine the outcome. In the battle over abortion, truth has largely been hidden. Simple truths, like abortion kills human beings, babies have no
The National Crime Authority has recently re-ignited the heroin debate by saying that we are losing the war against drugs. The NCA says that too many illicit drugs are entering the country, and that organised crime is spiralling out of
This book has a simple theme: Political Correctness has entered the medical profession. The politicisation and radicalisation of health professionals and workers has altered the nature of health care work, and has dangerous repercussions for patients and
The ink had just dried on a piece I wrote critical of a new book on homosexuality and the church by the Anglican Church doctrine committee, when the May 28 Australian ran an opinion piece that nearly made me unload
Two out of ten. If you want a quick scorecard approach to how the authors in this book line up on the issue of homosexuality, that is about how things stack up. Two of the authors/chapters
All methods of abortion stop the heart-beat of a living baby, but one method is especially gruesome. This method, known as the Dilation & Extraction method (D&X) is performed in many places in Australia. One Brisbane doctor has made a
For years now we have been told that cohabitation, or “trial marriages” are a good means of seeing if people are really compatible. Better marriages will result if such experimentation preceded them
A fiery debate about allowing IVF access to singles and lesbians was aired on the Nine Network’s Sixty Minutes on Sunday August 13. What went on behind the scenes was as interesting as what was finally aired.
The Infertility Treatment Authority recently put on a one-day public seminar in Melbourne entitled “The Welfare and Interests of Persons Born as a Result of Assisted Reproduction”. A number of speakers involved in or associated with the IVF industry were
There has been a lot of debate lately about the issue of heroin injecting rooms. Voices from all sides are being heard on the issue, and the controversy often sheds more heat than light. The Christian community has also
In June over 200 people gathered in Sydney’s Parliament House for Drug Summit 2000. Organised by Major Brian Watters of the Salvation Army, Jill Pearman of Drug Watch, and Rev Fred Nile MLC, the three-day summit brought together experts in