Wesley J. Smith

Wesley J. Smith (born 1949) is a lawyer and an award-winning author, a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center on Human Exceptionalism. He is also a lawyer and consultant for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, and a special consultant for the Center for Bioethics and Culture. In 2004 he was named by the National Journal as one of the nation’s top expert thinkers in bioengineering for his work in bioethics. He is a critic of scientocracy, "the trend to let 'the scientists' decide what is ethical and what our public policies should be".

Smith has authored or co-authored twelve books. He formerly collaborated with consumer advocate Ralph Nader, and has been published in regional and national outlets such as the New York Times, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times, the New York Post, and many others. His is also well-known for his blog, Secondhand Smoke "[2]", which is hosted by First Things . , which advances his theory of "human exceptionalism" and criticizes individuals whom he has termed "mainstream" bioethicists such as Peter Singer, Julian Savulescu, Jacob M. Appel, and R. Alta Charo. He has also been highly critical of science writer Matt Ridley.

Biography

Smith practiced law in the San Fernando Valley from 1976–1985, at which time he left law practice to pursue other interests, particularly as a public policy advocate. His first book in 1987 was The Lawyer Book: A Nuts and Bolts Guide to Client Survival, which was introduced by consumer advocate Ralph Nader beginning a collaboration between the two men. Smith is a prolific author, and frequent contributor to National Review and The Weekly Standard. He closely followed the Terri Schiavo case in 2005, and wrote frequently on the topic. He opposes assisted suicide and euthanasia. He is also a noted critic of mainstream views in bioethics, human cloning research, radical environmentalism, which he worries exhibits "anti-humanism,", and of what he calls the radical animal liberation movement. His book Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics in America was named Best Health Book of the Year at the 2001 Independent Publishers Book Awards.

Smith is a frequent guest on radio and television talk shows, having appeared on national programs such as Good Morning America and Nightline, as well as internationally on BBC 4. He has testified as an expert witness in front of federal and state legislative committees, and is an international public speaker. He contributes a weekly podcast called What It Means to be Human, which is produced by the Discovery Institute. His work as a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute is with the Project on Human Rights and Bioethics.

Smith is married to the syndicated San Francisco Chronicle columnist, Debra Saunders.

Criticism

In a 2001 essay, physician Matthew K. Wynia and attorney Arthur Derse accused Smith of selectively using evidence to create a false impression that bioethics is a monolithic field. They argued that Smith was "prepared to bend the truth to make a point, turn a stomach, and potentially radicalize a reader." Smith rebutted these criticisms, stating in part, "Wynia and Derse assert that I claim bioethics is a monolith. That is not what I write. What I do believe is that bioethics has, generally, crystallized into an orthodoxy, perhaps even an ideology. I acknowledge that disagreements certainly exist within the field. But I view them, with some exceptions, as the arguing of people who agree on fundamentals but disagree on details -- sort of like Catholics bickering with Baptists."

Bibliography

• The Lawyer Book: A Nuts and Bolts Guide to Client SurvivalPrice Stern Sloan Publishers, 1987, ISBN 0-8431-1569-6
• The Doctor Book: A Nuts and Bolts Guide to Patient Power Price Stern Sloan Publishers, 1988, ISBN 0-89586-747-8
• The Senior Citizen's Handbook: A Nuts and Bolts Guide to More Comfortable Living Price Stern Sloan Publishers, 1989, ISBN 0-89586-795-8
• Winning the Insurance Game (1990) Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith, ISBN 1-877961-17-5
• The Frugal Shopper (1991) Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith, ISBN 0-936758-30-9
• Collision Course: The Truth About Airline Safety (1993) Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith, ISBN 0-8306-4271-4
• No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America (1996) Random House, Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith, ISBN 0-679-42972-7
• Forced Exit: The Slippery Slope from Assisted Suicide to Legalized Murder (1997), ISBN-8129-2790-7
• Forced Exit: Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide, and the New Duty to Die (2006) Encounter Books, ISBN 1-59403-119-3
• Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics in America (2001), Encounter Books, ISBN 1-893554-06-6
• Power Over Pain, Eric M. Chevlen, MD and Wesley J. Smith, 2002, ISBN 0-9710946-0-8
• Consumer’s Guide to a Brave New World (2005), Encounter Books, ISBN 1-893554-99-6
• A Rat is a Pig is a Dog is a Boy: The Human Cost of the Animal Rights Movement (2010) Encounter Books, ISBN 978-159403346-9

See also

• Bioethics
• The President's Council on Bioethics
• Stem Cell Research
• Euthanasia
• Assisted Suicide
• Animal liberation movement
• Human exceptionalism
• Baxter v. Montana

External links

• Secondhand Smoke Blog
• Discovery Institute's Bioethics Program
• Lecture on Euthanasia at Princeton
• Lecture: "Why Being Human Matters," presented August 16, 2007 at the Discovery Institute
• Audio interview with Smith at National Review Online