Virginia Postrel on Leon Kass

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Virginia Postrel hits the nail on the head with her assessment of Leon Kass, an unfortunately influential fellow who is strongly opposed to healthy life extension in any form.

I've long argued that there are two completely distinct worldviews here: one (the traditional zygotes-are-persons view) that supports the end (longer, healthier lives) but not the means (embryo research) and another (the Kass view) that opposes the end and, only incidentally, the means (embryo research). If there's one thing Leon Kass isn't, it's pro-life.

Kass has declared himself willing to use government power to limit life spans - a fairly threatening stance for the head of the President's Council on Bioethics whatever one may think about the likelihood of such a state of affairs coming to pass. From where I stand, based on even a cursory examination of 20th century history, it's never too early to take a stand against the terrible excesses of government.