Jurors in Philadelphia today are set to continue considering the gruesome case against Kermit Gosnell, the abortionist on trial for killing babies who survived his abortions. He is accused of "snipping" their spinal cords at the neck. Is Gosnell’s just a freak case, however horrible, or does it reflect a much larger — and growing — disrespect for human life in our culture?

Discovery Institute’s John West will discuss that question, and the larger scientific context for the devaluation of life, with radio host Michael Medved today on the Medved Show. Join Michael and John at 1 pm Pacific time, 4 pm Eastern, for the Science and Culture Update, a new weekly hour on the Medved Show. You’ll find Michael’s show online too, here.

Defenders of human life are increasingly dismissed for being "anti-science," while those who criticize the field of bioethics for a shocking toleration of the idea of "post-birth abortion" are upbraided for assaulting "academic freedom." See my current article for ENV, "What Darwin’s Enforcers Will Say About Darwin’s Doubt: A Prediction."

Dr. West, who is associate director of the Center for Science & Culture, will talk with Mr. Medved, a Discovery Institute senior fellow, about the science of intelligent design that reveals purpose and meaning at work in the history of life.

Evolution? Infanticide? Do they really have so much to do with each other? In advance of John West’s discussion with Michael Medved, if you want to see the connection made very concrete, read Wall Street Journal writer James Taranto’s excellent column of yesterday, where he reminds us of how popular arch-Darwinist blogger and biologist PZ Myers demurred on Gosnell’s having committed "murder" against those seven babies.