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Explore the debate over embryonic stem cell research, public opinion on the issue, religious groups' views and the status of stem cell research in other countries.

 

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ANALYSIS February 4, 2009
The Social and Legal Dimensions of the Evolution Debate in the U.S.
As with many social and political controversies in the United States, the battle over evolution has been largely fought in courtrooms.
INTERVIEW October 3, 2007
A Progressive Argument Against the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide
The debate over physician-assisted suicide is often portrayed as a battle between social or religious conservatives who oppose the practice and liberals or progressives who support it. But not everyone fits neatly into this paradigm.
ANALYSIS June 13, 2007
Twenty Years After a Landmark Supreme Court Decision, Americans Are Still Fighting About Evolution
Twenty years ago, on June 19, 1987, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that dramatically reshaped the debate over teaching evolution in public schools.
INTERVIEW May 26, 2006
Federal Court Sends Back Georgia Evolution Sticker Case
The Pew Forum's legal expert David Masci explains the impact of the latest legal ruling in the battle over teaching evolution in American public schools.
LEGAL REPORT March 29, 2006
Biology Wars
The Religion, Science and Education Controversy Download the Discussion Read the original Transcript The current legal and political battles surrounding the teaching of evolution in American schools are part of an 80-year-old debate stretching bac...
ANALYSIS February 1, 2006
Supreme Court's Decision in Gonzales v. Oregon : High Court Rejects Federal Regulation of Physician-Assisted Suicide
Download the Decision Analysis Download the Legal Backgrounder On January 17, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1970 Controlled Substances Act (CSA) does not give the U.S. attorney general the authority to prohibit Oregon doctors from prescri...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT December 5, 2005
The Biology Wars: The Religion, Science and Education Controversy
Some of the nation's leading journalists gathered in Key West, Florida, in December 2005 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Conference speaker Edward J. Larson, Talmadge Chair of Law and Russ...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT December 1, 2005
Judicial Faith? Ideology, Religion and the Rule of Law: A Conversation with Noah Feldman
Just weeks before the Senate confirmation hearings of Judge Samuel A. Alito, President Bush's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, the Forum held a discussion for journalists and other policy leaders on the role of religion in the judicial confirma...
ANALYSIS September 30, 2005
Supreme Court Considers Challenge to Oregon's Death with Dignity Act: Gonzales v. Oregon and the Right to Die
Download the Legal Backgrounder Download the Decision Analysis 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 gene...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT September 29, 2005
The Right to Assisted Suicide?: Oregon Goes to the Supreme Court
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 ...
LEGAL REPORT September 22, 2005
From Darwin to Dover: An Overview of Important Cases in the Evolution Debate
Download the Legal Backgrounder (533K .pdf) Almost 150 years after Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking theory on the origins of life, Americans are still fighting over evolution. If anything, the controversy is growing in both size and int...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT May 6, 2005
Right to Die? Legal, Ethical and Public Policy Implications
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 h...