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This is part 2 of a debate with Roman Catholic theology graduate student named Mary. In part 1, we introduced and began to debate the topic of whether or not universities, hospitals, and social agencies run by the Catholic Church should be exempted from laws requiring employers to provide their employees health insurance that covers [...]
Archive for the ‘Bio-Medical Ethics’ Category
“What Are The Limits of Church Authority In the Public Sphere?”
February 5th, 2012 
Daniel Fincke 
Posted in Abortion, Abortion, Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Authority, Authority, Autonomy, Autonomy, Barack Obama, Barack Obama, Bio-Medical Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Christianity, Christianity, Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Feminism, Feminism, Gay Marriage, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homophobia, Law, Law, LGBTQAA, News Discussion, News Discussion, Personal, Philosophy, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Moderates, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Religious Secularism, Religious Secularism, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Issues 
Tags: 1st Amendment, Affordable Care Act, Conscience Exemptions, Discrimination Against Gays, Free Exercise, Freedom of Religion, Gay Rights, Health Coverage For Gay Spouses, Mary C. Young, Pharmacists Rights of Conscience, Relig, Religious Discrimination, Reproductive Rights, Roman Catholic Adoption Agencies Refuse Gay Adoptions, Roman Catholic Charities, Roman Catholic Church 
55 Comments »Mississippi Voters Reject “Personhood” Amendment
November 8th, 2011 Daniel Fincke JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi voters Tuesday defeated a ballot initiative that would’ve declared life begins at conception, a proposal that supporters sought in the Bible Belt state as a way to prompt a legal challenge to abortion rights nationwide. The so-called “personhood” initiative was rejected by more than 55 percent of voters, falling far short [...]
A Rape Victim's Heartbreaking Testimony About Planned Parenthood's Support
February 23rd, 2011 Daniel Fincke via PZ Myers comes a vital video by Chloe Heintz: UPDATE: Now there’s a follow up interview with Chloe from CBSNews.com Your Thoughts?
TOP Q: “Do Children Have Higher Moral Status Than Adults?”
February 9th, 2011 Daniel Fincke In his book Moral Status and Human Life: The Case for Children’s Superiority, law professor James Dwyer argues that children are not merely equal to adults in moral status but actually have a higher moral status than adults. Below is a brief video in which he sketches out the broad contours of his thought on moral [...]
Posted in Abortion, Abortion, Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Autonomy, Autonomy, Bio-Medical Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Duty, Duty, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Law, Law, Metaethics, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Teleology, Teleology, Today's Open Philosophical Question (TOP Q) Tags: Children, Children's Rights 2 Comments »Republican Legislator In Wyoming Recounts Circumstances Of Her Abortion
February 9th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Rachel Maddow covers the remarkable story about Wyoming State Representatives Lisa Shepperson and Sue Wallis making a small government conservatism argument against a paternalistic proposed abortion law: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Wallis is the mother of 7 and the grandmother of 1. More about her can be [...]
Posted in Abortion, Abortion, Bio-Medical Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Feminism, Feminism, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Politics, Politics, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Issues Tags: Rachel Maddow, Robert Brechtel, Sue Wallis, Wyoming 2 Comments »A Video Of Me Rambling About Nietzsche
January 17th, 2011 Daniel Fincke This is from 2007 and I just found that it pops right up when one Googles me. It’s hard for me to watch because it involves watching me. But I figured it might be of interest to others. Forgive the extemporaneousness of it all and enjoy some of the more hilarious hand gestures. (My favorite [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Historical Philosophy, Historical Philosophy, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, Nietzsche, Nietzsche, Personal, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy Tags: Daniel Fincke, John Hazlet, Normativity, Truth, Values 8 Comments »On Good And Evil For Non-Existent People
October 12th, 2010 Daniel Fincke Kyle, from the video blog Serptopia writes the following to me in reply to my posts from the summer, “On The Intrinsic Connection Between Being and Goodness”: Oh my, you seem quite the Aristotelean. From a certain angle, yes, I am very Aristotelean. But in the broader picture, I see myself as situating all of [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Teleology, Teleology Tags: Death, Euthanasia, Flourishing, Future People, Intrinsic Evils, Intrinsic Goods, Legacy, Power, Value 3 Comments »Judge This: Surrogate Refuses To Abort Baby At Parents’ Request
October 10th, 2010 Daniel Fincke A moral and legal dilemma: When a B.C. couple discovered that the fetus their surrogate mother was carrying was likely to be born with Down syndrome, they wanted an abortion. The surrogate, however, was determined to take the pregnancy to term, sparking a disagreement that has raised thorny questions about the increasingly common arrangements. Get [...]
Contortions Of Catholic Philosophy: Eve Tushnet Argues Gay Sex Is Not OK But Sex Changes Are
June 28th, 2010 Daniel Fincke Tushnet’s moral choice for herself and for other gays is celibacy or gender reassignment. Of course for some people, specifically some of the transgendered, a sex change is entirely appropriate and preferable to gay sex because from a gender(rather than a sex) perspective, those who are pre-op transgendered and are attracted to members of their [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Christianity, Christianity, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Ethics, Featured, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Homophobia, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Homosexuality, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Vices, LGBTQAA, Morality, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Psychology, Psychology, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Moderates, Religious Secularism, Religious Secularism, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Secularism, Sex, Teleology, Teleology 3 Comments »Louisiana To Require Ultrasounds Before Abortions
June 18th, 2010 Daniel Fincke It was a unanimous 79-0 vote: Women seeking abortions in Louisiana will be required to get an ultrasound first, even if they are a victim of rape or incest, under a bill that received final legislative passage Wednesday. The bill by Democratic state Sen. Sharon Broome of Baton Rouge was sent to the governor’s desk [...]
More On Sister Margaret McBride, The Nun Who Approved A Life-Saving Abortion
June 1st, 2010 Daniel Fincke This is mostly previously reported information, but it does include an appearance by Canon lawyer Kevin O’Rourke, a priest who both sides with Sister McBride and admits that the Church’s policy of automatically excommunicating anyone who permits an abortion but not automatically excommunicating pedophile priests “doesn’t look good”: My views on the ethical issues raised [...]
Should Religions Be Exempt From Laws Otherwise Applicable To Others?
May 25th, 2010 Daniel Fincke ProfMTH explores the issue with a wealth of information, siding against such exemptions: The second video is chock full of legal information. The most interesting bit in here is where he discusses Antonin Scalia’s strong case against religious exemptions and Sonia Sotomayor’s general support for them. 1. Regarding Christian Legal Society v. Martinez– –the decision [...]
Posted in Abortion, Applied Ethics, Atheist Videos, Bio-Medical Ethics, Christianity, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Free Speech, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Homosexuality, Law, Law & Politics, LGBTQAA, News Discussion, Political Secularism, Racism, Religion, Religious Rights, Roman Catholic Church, Same Sex Marriage, Secularism, Separation of Church and State Tags: "The Ministerial Exception", Anti-discrimination Laws, Antonin Scalia, Archbishop Donald Wuerl, Archdiocese of Washington DC, Automatic Charitable Deductions, Bob Jones University, Bob Jones University v. United States, Boy Scouts, Catholic Charities, Catholic Charities of Sacramento v. Superior Court, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany v. Serio, Christian Legal Society, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, Connecticut, Contraception, DC Same Sex Marriage Law, Employment Division v. Smith, Establihsment Clause of 1st Amendment, Federal 9th Circuit, Free Exercise Clause of 1st Amendment, Jonathan Turley, LAPD, Los Angelas Police Department, Mandated Benefits Laws, McClure v. The Salvation Army, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, Palmore v. Sidoti, ProfMTH, Sonia Sotomayor, Special Rights, Supreme Court of the United States of America, Tax Exemptions for Churches, The New York Times, The Supreme Court, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, University of California Hastings College of Law, Wisconsin Supreme Court No Comments »Moral Actions, Moral Sentiments, Moral Motives, and Moral Justifications: More On The Nun Excommunicated For Approving A Life-Saving Abortion
May 18th, 2010 Daniel Fincke In reply to my post on the story of Sister Margaret McBride whom the Catholic Church “automatically excommunicated” for helping to give the go-ahead to an abortion claimed necessary for saving the life of an 11 week pregnant mother, I have already received two interesting replies. The first challenged the medical argument for the necessity of [...]
Posted in Abortion, Applied Ethics, Authority, Autonomy, Bio-Medical Ethics, Christianity, Contemporary Ethics, Duty, Ethics, Featured, Feminism, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Religion, Roman Catholic Church, Secularism, Teleology, Virtues, Women's Issues Tags: Action Theory, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, Consequentialism, Doctrine of Double Effect, Excommunication, John Garvie, Moral Judgment, Moral Justification, Moral Motivation, Moral Sentiments, Phoenix Archdiocese, Sister Margaret McBride, Vice, Vicious Motives, Vicious Sentiments, Virtue Ethics 5 Comments »Legalism Over Life: Nun Supports Life-Saving Abortion And Gets Excommunicated
May 18th, 2010 Daniel Fincke Feministing: Sister Margaret McBride has been demoted from her position at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ after participating in the approval of an abortion for a critically ill patient in 2009. McBride was part of the hospital ethics committee that approved an abortion for a patient with pulmonary hypertension, which can be [...]
Posted in Abortion, Applied Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Duty, Ethics, Featured, News, News Discussion, Philosophy, Religion, Roman Catholic Church, Women's Rights Tags: Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, Consequentialism, Doctrine of Double Effect, Excommunication, Feministing, John Garvie, Phoenix Archdiocese, Sister Margaret McBride 12 Comments »Lego
November 10th, 2009 Daniel Fincke xkcd, of course. Your Thoughts?
Posted in Applied Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Comic Strips Tags: Compositional Wholes, Legos, Organ Donation, Personal Identity, Unity, xkcd No Comments »Judge This: Who Is Responsible For This Death?
October 7th, 2009 Daniel Fincke A new variation of James Rachels’s classic thought experiment against the distinction between killing and letting die from Chaos Pet: Well, who is really responsible? Bob? George? Both? Neither? Your Thoughts?
Walter Sinnott-Armstrong On Morality Without God
August 30th, 2009 Daniel Fincke From Philosophy Bites, comes Walter Sinnott-Armstrong on Morality Without God. Sinnott-Armstrong is the editor of the spectacular series of volumes on moral psychology featuring essays featuring both philosophers and psychologists in interaction with each other. Now he has a new book out, Morality Without God. (via Atheist Media Blog) Your Thoughts?
Judge This: Outsourcing Pregnancy To India
August 29th, 2009 Daniel Fincke Full video of Sandel’s talk: Your Thoughts?
Logic, Numbers, and Mary’s Conception
August 15th, 2009 Daniel Fincke Numbers 5:14, 18, 44: If feelings of jealousy come over her husband and he suspects his wife and she is impure—or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure—then he is to take his wife to the priest…. After the priest has had the woman stand before the LORD, he [...]
Is It Wrong To Advertize Abortion Services On TV?
July 30th, 2009 Daniel Fincke Sadly this video has been taken down from YouTube.
Posted in Abortion, Applied Ethics, Ethics, Feminism, News Discussion, Politics, Women's Issues Tags: Britain, Commercialism No Comments »Is The Christians’ God Pro-Life?
July 30th, 2009 Daniel Fincke Daniel Florian sums up the case that indeed he is not: Dear Pro-Lifer, Your God is not pro-life. You might find that statement surprising, but I know this from your own holy book. Despite what you may have been told, the Bible is not a pro-life document. It is, in many parts, pro-death. In one [...]
Posted in Abortion, Bible, Christianity, Fundamentalism, God, Politics, Religion Tags: Daniel Florian, King David, Pro-Death, Pro-Life No Comments »Peter Singer Argues We Must Ration Health Care
July 19th, 2009 Daniel Fincke His article is long, here are just a few key pieces: In Britain, everyone has health insurance. In the U.S., some 45 million do not, and nor are they entitled to any health care at all, unless they can get themselves to an emergency room. Hospitals are prohibited from turning away anyone who will be [...]
Making It Illegal To Create Centaurs, Mermaids, and Spider-Man
July 13th, 2009 Daniel Fincke Dammit. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) — an ardent anti-abortion activist — is worried that the Obama administration’s loosening of restrictions on stem cell research will result in the creation of a new race of bio-engineered “human-animal” hybrid freaks. Or beautiful mermaids. The bill — modeled on an inexplicably overlooked effort by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, News, Politics, Science Tags: Bio-engineering, Bioethics, Centaurs, Mermaids, Sam Brownback, Senate No Comments »The Pope Not Interested In “Perfect Ideological Conformity?”
July 13th, 2009 Daniel Fincke Russ Douthat has a strange column in The New York Times today arguing that because the pope’s views cross the standard political lines of America’s left and right wings (denouncing both environmental destruction and embryonic) that he shows “that truth may not be served by perfect ideological conformity.” The church is not a think tank, [...]
Obama’s New Science Czar’s Controversial Prescriptions
July 12th, 2009 Daniel Fincke Zombietime has the excerpts from new “science czar” John Holdren’s 1977 book, in which he advocates the following: • Women could be forced to abort their pregnancies, whether they wanted to or not; • The population at large could be sterilized by infertility drugs intentionally put into the nation’s drinking water or in food; • [...]
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