Bioethics – Family Council

One Year Ago: Arkansas House Rejected Bad End-of-Life Legislation

Apr 14, 2022Jerry CoxEuthanasia and Assisted SuicideAssisted Suicide, Bioethics, Euthanasia

One year ago today the Arkansas House Representatives rejected two bad pieces of end-of-life legislation.

The first was H.B. 1685.

This bad bill would have let healthcare workers who are not physicians work through end-of-life decisions with patients and family members.

It did not require healthcare workers making these decisions to have appropriate training in end-of-life care.

The bill also would have made it easier to deny a dying person food or water.

H.B. 1685 received 31 votes. Fifty-five representatives voted against it.

The second was H.B. 1686.

This bad bill would have let healthcare workers who are not physicians complete Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms.

It would have removed an important provision in state law that says a POLST form is not intended to replace an advance directive.

It inadvertently would have prevented consulting physicians — such as palliative care physicians — from completing POLST forms with patients.

H.B. 1686 received 38 votes. Forty-eight representatives voted against it.

Both bills were opposed by several different groups, including:

National Right to Life
Arkansas Right to Life
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition USA
Family Council
Northwest Arkansas Respect Life
Arkansas Advocates for Nursing Home Residents

As we keep saying, being pro-life means believing that human life is sacred from conception until natural death.

It means treating human life with respect at every stage of development.

Just like abortion, euthanasia and assisted-suicide are murder, and they violate the sanctity of human life.

Surrogate Babies Stranded in Kyiv Bomb Shelter Amid War

Mar 16, 2022Jerry CoxBioethics, SurrogacyBioethics, Commercial Surrogacy, Surrogacy

*Above: A screenshot from the BBC’s report.*

The BBC reported Wednesday that at least 21 babies born through surrogacy are stuck in a bomb shelter nursery in Kyiv while the war rages in Ukraine.

The story underscores yet another example of the unintended consequences tied to commercial surrogacy.

Unfortunately, commercial surrogacy is a big business in parts of eastern Europe and Asia. Couples from western nations can contract with companies — like BioTexCom in Ukraine — who hire women to bear children as surrogates.

In 2020, World News reported dozens of newborn babies born through commercial surrogacy were stranded in a Kyiv hotel due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Commercial surrogacy treats babies like products that people can buy or sell, and it treats women like commodities.

Many nations prohibit commercial surrogacy, because it is linked to the exploitation of women and children.

Unfortunately Arkansas’ commercial surrogacy laws are very lax.

Since 2017, Family Council has actively supported legislation to prohibit commercial surrogacy in Arkansas. So far that legislation has not passed.

Human beings are not products that can be bought or sold. That’s why Family Council opposes commercial surrogacy — and will continue to oppose it.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

Invitro Heartbreak

Jan 17, 2022Guest AuthorBioethicsBioethics, Invitro

Last week, The Wall Street Journal published the heartbreaking story of a 27-year-old man who died from a drug overdose back in 2020. Steven Gunner was conceived through the use of a sperm donor. He also struggled with schizophrenia.

After his death, his mom and adoptive dad reached out to other children who were also fathered by Steven’s donor, in order to let them know that their son’s mental illness may have been genetically inherited.

Their research confirmed that the sperm donor — known to them as just a number — had also suffered from schizophrenia, had also died by a drug overdose, and had not disclosed his mental health issues on health history forms – which American sperm clinics are not required to verify.

The Gunners’ research also revealed that Steven’s father has at least 18 other children.

It’s unknown whether they also inherited schizophrenia from the father, but the Gunners’ tragedy is yet another chapter in the larger story of assisted reproduction: when we rip apart God’s design for families, there is pain in every direction.