… Think Again:

Leon Kass has stepped down from the White House Bioethics Council, to be replaced by Edmund Pellegrino, who supports a ban on even privately supported embryonic stem cell research. Ron Bailey writes: “The bottom line: Pellegrino’s appointment as chairman of the President’s Bioethics Council will, if anything, increase that body’s opposition to a lot [of] biotechnological progress.”

InstaPundit doesn’t mention Pellegrino’s religious pedigree, but Ron Bailey describes him as a “conservative Roman Catholic” and “senior fellow at the Christian bioethics think tank, the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity.”

In its mission statement, the Center mentions: “Recognizing that biblical values have exercised a profound influence on Western Culture, the Center explores the potential contribution of such values as part of its work.” Their site also includes a very Catholic article by Pellegrino arguing against doctors offering “enhancement” rather than mere “treatment” to their patients. He concludes the article with this tidbit: “Hopes for an earthly paradise are seemingly within reach for many people who no longer believe in an after-life. For them, extracting the maximum from personal enhancement is a seductive substitute.” (Damn those people wanting to better their lives here on earth!)

Theocratic government means that political questions are resolved by appeal to some religious faith or other. A man like Edmund Pellegrino is just helping us along in that direction.