Religion & Bioethics

by Robert Ruby, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life November 8, 2006 Voters in South Dakota on Tuesday rejected what would have been the nation’s most restrictive law against abortion, and Arizona became the first state to defeat a ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage. Of the eight states where bans on gay marriage […]

Washington, D.C. Values and morality, often grounded in religious belief, have shaped the political contours of the stem cell research debate. As Congress and President Bush take up the issue, the Pew Forum provides answers to the following questions. Featuring: John Green, Senior Fellow in Religion and American Politics, Pew Forum on Religion & Public […]

A Pew Forum Fact Sheet In August 2005, the Pew Forum released poll data indicating a steady increase in support for stem cell research since 2002. The report showed increases among evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants and Catholics. Roughly half (52%) of opponents of stem cell research said their religious beliefs were the biggest influence on […]

Pew Forum and Pew Research Center Resources on End-of-Life Issues This month marks the first anniversary of the death of Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged Florida woman whose medical condition led to an emotional public debate over end-of-life issues. Schiavo died on March 31, 2005, after state courts repeatedly affirmed the right of her husband […]

On October 5, 2005, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Gonzales v. Oregon, a case arising from the conflict between Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act and the U.S. attorney general’s interpretation of the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Oregon’s law, which was twice approved by the state’s voters, permits physicians to prescribe […]

Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. Oregon has twice, by ballot initiative, adopted a measure allowing for physician-assisted suicide. The measure, known as the “Death With Dignity Act,” raises serious moral and ethical questions, and was challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Department contended that it had the right to invalidate the law, […]

10:00 a.m.-noon National Press Club Washington, D.C. Sponsored by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, The Federalist Society, and The Constitution Project End of life decisions have been much in the news lately, with the Schiavo case and the late Pope’s medical treatment dominating recent headlines. Interest in this issue is likely to […]

Key West, Florida Speaker: Gilbert Meilaender, Richard & Phyllis Duesenberg Professor of Christian Ethics, Valparaiso University; Member, President’s Council on Bioethics Respondent: William Saletan, Chief Political Correspondent, Slate Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics and Public Policy Center MICHAEL CROMARTIE: Gilbert Meilaender is a renowned author, theologian and Christian ethicist. He is a member of […]

Navigate this Report GOP More Friendly to Religion Stem Cell Research Views Shifting Catholic Leaders and Communion Churches and Politics Politicians and Faith Gay Marriage Ten Commandments in Public Buildings As the Republicans gather in New York to nominate George W. Bush for a second term, more Americans see the Republican Party than the Democratic […]

3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Washington, D.C. Featuring: Michael Sandel, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government, Harvard University; member, President’s Council on Bioethics; author of “The Case Against Perfection,” The Atlantic Monthly, April 2004 Responding: Lee M. Silver, Professor at Princeton University in the Department of Molecular Biology and the Woodrow Wilson School […]