The Human Life Foundation<\/a> awarded its “Great Defender of Life<\/a>” to Wesley J. Smith last month for his tireless work in defense of human life. I’ve admired Mr. Smith’s work for years, have read most of his books, and even reviewed one<\/a> for Town Hall a few years back. His books are invaluable in keeping you informed about the relentless assault on human dignity waged behind closed doors in our culture. You are not informed about these issues unless you are familiar with his work. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n My wife first introduced me to his work when she saw “Forced Exit” in the store and bought it for me. Only after reading did I understand how deep the culture of death ideology reached into the professional classes. Readers of the AOI blog may have noticed that Mr. Smith also contributes here on occasion. About two years ago or so, he decided to embrace the Orthodox Church as his spiritual home. We are fortunate he made this decision. You can keep up with Wesley J. Smith on his blog: Secondhand Smoke: Your 24\/7 Seminar on Bioethics and the Importance of Being Human<\/a>.<\/p>\n