If you follow our work closely, you might be tempted to think that those of us who work for the CBCN are merely messengers of doom and gloom. Since our work deals with ethics at the edges of life—particularly birth and dying—we’re often sounding the alarm on urgent issues in hopes that the world will pay attention and develop a greater respect for the most vulnerable among us.

To a certain extent, it’s true that much of what we have to report on is cause for concern. But there’s also reason for hope and gratitude for those that are offering us a better way forward. As we approach this Thanksgiving, I’d like to recall a few of those reasons:

  • For Melissa Cook, a California woman who is serving as a surrogate for triplets, but is refusing to abort them–despite significant pressure from the intended father.
  • For J.J. Hanson, who was diagnosed with brain cancer last year at age 33, and is leading the fight against physician assisted suicide in New York and New Jersey. He offers the world a far more courageous example than that of Brittany Maynard, the twenty-nine year old woman who led a campaign for physician assisted suicide in California following the same diagnosis.
  • For developing countries, such as India and Cambodia, that are banning the practice of commercial surrogacy in their respective countries and setting an example to the rest of the world that it’s wrong to exploit women and children through this practice.
  • For physicians and medical personnel—from Belgium to Canada to the United States—who are refusing to go along with the practice of physician assisted suicide and are unfraid to speak out against it.
  • And for our many friends and supporters, like you, who are helping us maximize our influence and tell these stories—both the good ones and the bad ones—in order to fight for a truly human future.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network.

Image by wwworks via flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Author Profile

Christopher White, Ramsey Institute Project Director