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Organoids – a research-dedicated tool
“Organoids” are no longer an element of sciencefiction: these “small-scale organs” exist and the techniques used to create them have advanced considerably over the last five years. Some are about to be marketed. They are “already a fast and profitable tool for...
The “construction of an artificial human genome”discussed behind closed doors
The report by the New York Times of a meeting, held behind closed doors at Harvard, on 10 May 2016, bringing together 150 scientists, lawyers and entrepreneurs to discuss the “construction of an artificial human genome” has stirred up quite a storm. “We are still a...
“Death is not a medical problem to be resolved”
“We doctors cannot prescribe a ‘good death’” is the title given to a publication by Seamus O'Mahony, Consultant Physician at Cork University Hospital in Ireland. Sickened by the monthly publication of a new “well-meaning report on deaths and end-of-life care” and...
Surrogacy: In the United Kingdom, a single father wins a legal battle to become the “legal parent”
In the United Kingdom, a senior High Court Judge declared that British legislation discriminates against single-parent families of children born through surrogacy and that UK law in this area contravenes human rights. The claimant in this case was the father, a single...
Chimeric embryo research continues in the United States
In the United States, a group of scientists is continuing research into hybrid human-animal embryos, despite the NIH[1] moratorium passed last September (see Create human organs in pigs or sheep – fact or fiction?). Pablo Ross, reproduction biologist at the University...
Oklahoma Governor opposes the veto of the draft bill banning abortion
On Friday, Oklahoma Governor, Mary Fallin, opposed the draft bill vetoed by the Senate the day before, aimed at banning abortion except in cases where the mother’s life is in jeopardy (see No abortion ban in Oklahoma). In a press release, she announced that the draft...
7,000 people join the March for Life in Croatia
On Saturday, the March for Life united thousands of people in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. This was the first event of its kind in a country where abortion has been decriminalised since 1978 and is authorised up to the tenth week of pregnancy. The aim of this...
The euthanasia of a young Dutch woman: the “extraordinary” failure of “a profoundly negative message addressed to survivors of sexual abuse”
A victim of sexual violence herself and suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS), a young woman has denounced media coverage of the euthanasia of a young Dutch woman who was raped during childhood. Whilst the Daily Mail declares that, in publishing...
No abortion ban in Oklahoma
In the United States, a draft bill “making abortion illegal” presented by Republican senator, Nathan Dahm, was adopted by the Oklahoma Senate on Thursday by 33 votes to 12. It must now be approved by State Governor, Mary Fallin. The draft bill stipulates that, “any...
Australia: Twins born through surrogacy abused by their intended father
A 49 year-old man in the State of Victoria, Australia, has just been sentenced for sexually abusing his two daughters born to a foreign surrogate mother. He had taken the twins to Australia. The man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for 37 counts of...
Indian Catholics against “passive euthanasia”
Whilst the New Delhi Government is working on a draft bill to extend passive euthanasia, the extensive, unanimous Catholic Indian opposition is expressing its views on a designated Web site created by the Ministry for Health and Social Assistance on 9 May. ...
The efficacy of “three-parent IVF” contested by American scientists
In a study published in the Cell Stem Cell journal, scientists at the New York Stem Cell Foundation contest the safety of “three-parent IVF” - a gene therapy technique authorised in Great Britain in 2015. This technique involves creating embryos from three DNAs...