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“The embryo has a remarkable ability to correct itself”
A study published in the Nature journal and directed by Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz shows that “the presence of abnormal cells in premature embryos does not necessarily indicate a deficiency in the unborn baby”. This research has been carried out in mice and it...
Florida cuts Family Planning Finance
Last Friday, Florida Governor, Rick Scott, signed a draft bill aimed at significantly reducing public funding for abortion clinics, especially those run by the Family Planning Association. Florida is the twelfth state to respond to “commercial abortions” by...
3D ultrasound scans: getting to know the child before he/she is born?
3D ultrasound scans are not that commonplace in Europe. The French Health Authorities, for instance, are afraid of the effects of the ultrasound on the foetus. However, there is no formal ban. This type of scan has existed for over a decade in French-speaking...
Indiana is the second US state to ban abortion in relation to Down syndrome
After North Dakota, Indiana is banning abortion on the grounds of genetic fœtal deformity such as Down syndrome. In fact, “on 24 March, State Governor, Mike Pence, signed a law on which the Indiana Parliament had voted, banning abortion on the grounds of race, skin...
The Romanian Parliament focuses on MAP and surrogacy
In Romania, both MAP (medically assisted procreation) and surrogacy are practised “outside any legal framework”. A draft bill, which has been in the pipeline for several years” could reach fruition in the coming months”. In this context the Law Commission and the...
United Kingdom: the number of frozen eggs has tripled in five years
According to a report by the HFEA[1], the number of women freezing their eggs has tripled in five years. In 2014, 816 women used this technique in an attempt to preserve their fertility and have a child later in life. The HFEA has listed several reasons behind...
The American Supreme Court is divided on the financing of contraception
On Wednesday, American Supreme Court judges “heard, for an hour and a half, the arguments put forward by seven religious, non-profit-making associations, including the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and the Little Sisters of the Poor Charity Organisation”, who...
Thailand: a surrogate mother refuses to allow the child to leave with a homosexual couple
The world’s media attention is currently focused on a legal battle underway in Thailand between homosexual partners and a surrogate mother. On finding out that the intended parents were homosexuals, Mrs. Kusolsang, the surrogate mother, changed her mind and did...
CRISPR: are Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier responsible for the ethical scope of their discovery?
On Thursday, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna were awarded the 2016 Oréal-Unesco Award “For Women and Science” for their work on CRISPR-Cas9. In 2012, the two scientists published a description of this technique “which has since been unleashed on biology...
Italy: the adoption of a child by the biological father’s partner is upheld by the courts
In Italy, the Minors’ Court of Rome “has upheld the adoption of a child by the biological father’s partner”. The child in question is 6 years old and “was born in Canada to a surrogate mother”. This decision is final “in the absence of any appeal within the legal...
A reduction in the number of abortions in Germany
The number of abortions in Germany has fallen below 100,000 since 2014 and this pattern continued throughout2015. The decrease started in 2001, falling from 135,000 to 99,237. In France, which has a population of 66 million compared to Germany’s 80 million...
What is the ECHR’s position on conscientious objection to prenatal diagnosis for eugenic purposes?
On 11 March, a Spanish doctor submitted “a request for recognition of the violation of his freedom of conscience” to the European Court of Human Rights. The latter must now pass judgment for the first time on “conscientious objection to prenatal diagnosis for eugenic...