Bioethics Babe

Arina Grossu Agnew
  • 5.0 (4)
  • SCIENCE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

On the Bioethics Babe podcast we examine the tough questions and human flourishing in light of science, faith, and culture. Each week we will do a deep-dive into a bioethical issue with a top medical, academic, or policy expert. www.bioethicsbabe.com

  1. “Is Transhumanism the New Eugenics? The War on Human Equality" with Wesley J. Smith | Ep. 21

    3H AGO

    “Is Transhumanism the New Eugenics? The War on Human Equality" with Wesley J. Smith | Ep. 21

    Is transhumanism the next frontier of progress or a revival of eugenics in a biotech age? In this episode of Bioethics Babe, I sit down with attorney, award-winning author, and Humanize podcast host Wesley J. Smith to unpack the growing transhumanist movement, the push to engineer a “post-human” future through AI, gene editing, cognitive enhancement, designer babies, and radical life extension. From CRISPR gene editing and Neuralink to the “Singularity” and digital immortality, transhumanism promises to eliminate suffering, enhance intelligence, and even defeat death itself. But at what cost? We explore: Does transhumanism undermine human equality?Are we dividing society into the “enhanced” and the “natural”?Is the pursuit of immortality driven by fear of death?When does enhancement become eugenics?Can AI and biotechnology coexist with human dignity?Is the desire to eliminate suffering leading us toward eliminating the sufferer?As history has shown, whenever human worth is tied to capacity such as intelligence, strength, and productivity, equality collapses. If some humans are “upgradeable,” are others expendable? This conversation dives deep into the philosophical, moral, and political implications of transhumanism and asks whether we are quietly waging a war on human equality in the name of progress. 📚For Episode Resources, please visit the episode page. For more information, the latest episodes, and additional resources, visit www.bioethicsbabe.com. Follow BB on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BioethicsBabe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576554667052 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bioethicsbabe X: https://x.com/bioethicsbabe

    1h 41m
  2. "Designer Babies: When IVF Becomes Human Design" with Dr. Tara Sander Lee | Ep. 20

    6D AGO

    "Designer Babies: When IVF Becomes Human Design" with Dr. Tara Sander Lee | Ep. 20

    IVF was introduced as a way to address infertility, even though it is fraught with ethical problems. But today, it increasingly involves grading embryos, screening genetic traits, and deciding which embryos are chosen. Are we entering an era where reproduction becomes human design? In this episode, Harvard-trained biochemist Tara Sander Lee, Ph.D. explains how modern IVF increasingly involves eugenic practices. We examine: • When human life begins from a scientific standpoint • How embryo grading determines which embryos are transferred, frozen, or discarded • The difference between single-gene disorder screening and polygenic risk scores • Whether “designer babies” are already a reality • The ethical risks of genetic trait selection • What the Tiffany Score & Steven Mills IVF embryo mix-up revealed about industrialized reproduction • Whether gene editing and CRISPR can ever be ethical As IVF expands beyond infertility “treatment” and into optimization, urgent questions emerge about human dignity, disability, and the moral limits of reproductive technology. This is a conversation about science, power, and whether medicine is meant to heal people or to redesign them. 📚For Episode Resources, please visit the episode page: https://bioethicsbabe.com/designer-babies-when-ivf-becomes-human-design-with-dr-tara-sander-lee-ep-20/ For more information, the latest episodes, and additional resources, visit www.bioethicsbabe.com. Follow BB on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BioethicsBabe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576554667052 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bioethicsbabe X: https://x.com/bioethicsbabe

    1h 53m
  3. “Has Feminism Betrayed Motherhood?” with Kimberly Cook | Ep. 19

    FEB 17

    “Has Feminism Betrayed Motherhood?” with Kimberly Cook | Ep. 19

    Has modern feminism liberated women or has it quietly turned women against their own motherhood? In this episode of Bioethics Babe, I sit down with Kimberly Cook, author of Motherhood Redeemed: How Radical Feminism Betrayed Maternal Love, to examine one of the most controversial questions of our time: Has feminism betrayed motherhood? Kimberly shares her powerful personal journey from embracing modern feminist ideology to rediscovering the beauty of femininity, fertility, and maternal love through her Christian conversion. Together, we explore: How contraception reshaped women’s identity and not just behaviorWhy early women’s rights activism differed from 20th-century feminismMargaret Sanger, Simone de Beauvoir, and the shift toward “biological slavery” languageThe connection between contraception, abortion, no-fault divorce, and today’s gender confusionWhat St. John Paul II meant by the “feminine genius”Why motherhood is not a limitation but a spiritual powerThis conversation goes beyond politics. It confronts the deeper spiritual question: What happens when women are taught to see their fertility as a curse rather than a gift? From birth control and abortion to the breakdown of the family and declining birth rates, we unpack how ideas shape culture and why redeeming motherhood may be essential to restoring human dignity. 📚For Episode Resources, please visit the episode page: https://bioethicsbabe.com/has-feminism-betrayed-motherhood-with-kimberly-cook-feminism-series-part-2-ep-19/ This is the second episode in the Feminism Series. Check out the first episode in the series here: “The Lie of Modern Feminism: What Early Feminists Really Believed” with Erika Bachiochi, Feminism Series Part 1 | Ep. 10 https://bioethicsbabe.com/the-lie-of-modern-feminism-what-early-feminists-really-believed-with-erika-bachiochi-feminism-series-part-1-ep-10/ For more information, the latest episodes, and additional resources, visit www.bioethicsbabe.com. Follow BB on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BioethicsBabe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576554667052 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bioethicsbabe X: https://x.com/bioethicsbabe

    2h 22m
  4. “Is Love All You Need? Truth, Intention, and Moral Action” with Fr. James Brent, OP | Ep. 18

    FEB 10

    “Is Love All You Need? Truth, Intention, and Moral Action” with Fr. James Brent, OP | Ep. 18

    Is love really all you need to make something ethical? In a culture that treats good intentions as the highest moral standard, this episode asks a harder and more important question: Can love be ethical without truth? In this episode of Bioethics Babe, I’m joined by Fr. James Dominic Brent, OP, a Dominican priest and philosopher in the Thomistic tradition, to examine why sincerity alone isn’t enough in moral decision-making, especially in medicine, relationships, and family life. Drawing on Catholic moral theology and the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, Fr. Brent explains: Why good intentions are necessary but never sufficient for moral actionHow love is properly understood as willing the true good of the otherWhy actions shape not only outcomes, but who we become as personsThe moral difference between relieving suffering and eliminating the suffererHow separating love from truth puts the most vulnerable people — children, the sick, the elderly—at greatest riskFrom IVF and euthanasia to sexual ethics, consent, and modern ideas of affirmation, this conversation challenges the assumption that “if it’s done out of love, it can’t be wrong.” Especially fitting around Valentine’s Day, this episode offers a deeper vision of love, one rooted not in emotion or convenience, but in truth, sacrifice, and human dignity. 📚For Episode Resources, please visit the episode page: https://bioethicsbabe.com/is-love-all-you-need-truth-intention-and-moral-action-with-fr-james-brent-op-ep-18/ For more information, the latest episodes, and additional resources, visit www.bioethicsbabe.com. Follow BB on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BioethicsBabe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576554667052 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bioethicsbabe X: https://x.com/bioethicsbabe

    1h 32m
  5. “What Happens After Killing Is Legalized: Inside Canada’s Euthanasia Experiment and Beyond” with Alex Schadenberg | Ep. 17

    FEB 3

    “What Happens After Killing Is Legalized: Inside Canada’s Euthanasia Experiment and Beyond” with Alex Schadenberg | Ep. 17

    What happens after killing is legalized? In this episode of Bioethics Babe, I sit down with Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, to examine what Canada’s euthanasia regime reveals about medicine, consent, and human dignity. Euthanasia and assisted suicide are often framed as compassion about choice, autonomy, and relief from suffering. But as Canada’s MAiD system shows, once killing becomes legal, safeguards collapse, definitions expand, and the most vulnerable people are placed at risk. In this conversation, we discuss: The moral difference between euthanasia, assisted suicide, and end-of-life careWhy killing is always wrong and why every human life has inherent valueHow “quality of life” arguments become tools for discriminationDisturbing Canadian cases involving euthanasia without true consentWhy disability, mental illness, poverty, and isolation increasingly intersect with euthanasiaHow safeguards are used to pass laws then are quietly dismantledWhat the United States can learn from Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and AustraliaWhy the “slippery slope” is no longer theoretical, but measurableThis is a difficult conversation, but a necessary one. If we redefine care as killing, what happens to medicine, trust, and our responsibility to protect one another? 📚For Episode Resources, please visit the episode page: For more information, the latest episodes, and additional resources, visit www.bioethicsbabe.com. Follow BB on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BioethicsBabe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576554667052 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bioethicsbabe X: https://x.com/bioethicsbabe

    2h 39m
  6. “Vaccines, Trust, and Informed Consent After COVID” with Dr. Jay Richards | Ep. 16

    JAN 28

    “Vaccines, Trust, and Informed Consent After COVID” with Dr. Jay Richards | Ep. 16

    In a post-COVID world, families are asking harder questions about vaccines and those questions deserve serious, ethical answers. In this episode of Bioethics Babe, I’m joined by Dr. Jay Richards, Vice President of Social and Domestic Policy and the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation, where he also chairs the Restoring American Wellness initiative. He is also a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute. We explore how families can think clearly and ethically about vaccines after COVID. This conversation covers informed consent, risk-benefit analysis, parental responsibility, the updated CDC childhood immunization schedule, and the growing crisis of trust in public health institutions. This episode is for parents, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and anyone trying to navigate vaccine decisions with both reason and conscience. In this episode, we cover: Vaccines and informed consentRisk, benefit, and proportionality in medicineParental responsibility and human dignityTrust in public health after COVIDThe updated CDC childhood immunization scheduleEthics, religious liberty, and vaccine mandatesShared clinical decision-making vs. one-size-fits-all policy📚For Episode Resources, please visit the episode page: https://bioethicsbabe.com/vaccines-trust-and-informed-consent-after-covid-with-jay-richards-ep-16/. For more information, the latest episodes, and additional resources, visit www.bioethicsbabe.com. Follow BB on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BioethicsBabe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576554667052 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bioethicsbabe X: https://x.com/bioethicsbabe

    1h 47m
  7. “The Human Cost: Abortion Regret and Redemption After My Chemical Abortion” with Toni McFadden | Ep. 15

    JAN 20

    “The Human Cost: Abortion Regret and Redemption After My Chemical Abortion” with Toni McFadden | Ep. 15

    What is the real human cost of abortion—especially chemical abortion? In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Toni McFadden shares her abortion story with unflinching honesty. As a teenager facing an unplanned pregnancy, Toni had a chemical abortion believing it was the only way out. What followed wasn’t relief—but years of silence, trauma, emotional grief, and spiritual brokenness. Toni recounts what the abortion pill experience was really like, the isolation she felt, the long road of unhealed pain, and how abortion affected not only her—but also the child’s father, her future marriage, and her family. She also shares how a slow, unexpected encounter with faith led to real post-abortion healing, forgiveness, and redemption. This episode confronts the human cost of abortion—beyond slogans and politics—and explores what healing actually looks like after abortion regret. Toni’s story is one of truth, accountability, grace, and the kind of redemption that doesn’t erase the wound, but redeems it. This conversation covers: Chemical abortion and its physical and emotional aftermathAbortion regret and post-abortion traumaThe hidden impact of abortion on women and menWhy abortion doesn’t end the crisis—but often begins a longer oneFaith, forgiveness, and post-abortion healingMarriage, motherhood, and redemption after abortionWhy telling the truth is essential for healingIf you or someone you love has been affected by abortion, this episode offers compassion, honesty, and hope—without minimizing the loss. 📚For Episode Resources, please visit the episode page: https://bioethicsbabe.com/human-cost-abortion-regret-and-redemption-after-my-chemical-abortion-with-toni-mcfadden-ep-15/ For more information, the latest episodes, and additional resources, visit www.bioethicsbabe.com. Follow BB on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BioethicsBabe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576554667052 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bioethicsbabe X: https://x.com/bioethicsbabe

    1h 38m
  8. "A Surgeon Speaks Out: Why Surgical Interventions for Sexual Identity Disorder Are Irreversible and Unethical” with Dr. Patrick Lappert, Sexual Identity Disorder Series Part 4 | Ep. 14

    JAN 13

    "A Surgeon Speaks Out: Why Surgical Interventions for Sexual Identity Disorder Are Irreversible and Unethical” with Dr. Patrick Lappert, Sexual Identity Disorder Series Part 4 | Ep. 14

    What do surgical interventions on people with sexual identity disorder actually do to the human body and are any of them reversible? In this episode of Bioethics Babe, host Arina Grossu Agnew sits down with Dr. Patrick Lappert, a twice board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, former U.S. Navy Captain, and former Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Portsmouth Naval Hospital. Dr. Lappert spent more than 30 years in the operating room, including decades rebuilding bodies damaged by trauma, cancer, congenital deformities, and combat injuries. In this conversation, he explains in precise medical detail why surgical interventions on people with sexual identity disorder are cosmetic, irreversible, and ethically incompatible with basic principles of surgery, especially when performed on minors. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why surgical interventions on people with sexual identity disorder are not reconstructive medicineWhat actually happens during “top surgery,” hysterectomy, phalloplasty, vaginoplasty, and orchiectomyWhy these procedures permanently destroy fertility, sexual function, and normal anatomyWhy no surgery that sacrifices function for appearance is ethicalWhy minors cannot actually give informed consentWhat surgeons mean by “irreversible” (and why appearance does not equal restoration)The medical reality faced by detransitioners seeking reversal or reconstructionThe complications doctors don’t discuss: fistulas, strictures, chronic wounds, infections, and loss of sensationWhy calling these surgeries “life-saving” contradicts surgical ethicsHow ideology replaced evidence in modern medicine surrounding sexual identity disorderDr. Lappert also shares what he has learned from speaking with detransitioners, including common themes of regret, betrayal, grief, and eventual relief and why the rush to surgical interventions ultimately harms patients physically and psychologically. This is a medical, ethical, and human conversation about the body, consent, and the duty of physicians to heal and not mutilate. Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of medical trauma and irreversible surgical procedures that may be difficult for some listeners. Please use discretion and take care while listening. 📚For Episode Resources, please visit the episode page: https://bioethicsbabe.com/a-surgeon-speaks-out-why-surgical-interventions-for-sexual-identity-disorder-are-irreversible-and-unethical-with-dr-patrick-lappert-sexual-identity-disorder-series-part-4-ep-14/ For more information, the latest episodes, and additional resources, visit www.bioethicsbabe.com. Follow BB on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BioethicsBabe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576554667052 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bioethicsbabe X: https://x.com/bioethicsbabe

    2 hr
See All (23)

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

On the Bioethics Babe podcast we examine the tough questions and human flourishing in light of science, faith, and culture. Each week we will do a deep-dive into a bioethical issue with a top medical, academic, or policy expert. www.bioethicsbabe.com

Information

  • Creator
    Arina Grossu Agnew
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Arina Grossu Agnew
  • Show Website
    Bioethics Babe