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Surrogacy in India: police remove a boy from his biological mother to take him to his intended parents
A 4-year-old boy in India was found by the police and taken to his biological father's family, where he met his twin brother. Both brothers were born in 2015, to a surrogate mother who was also their biological mother. When they were born, the mother said one of the...
Australia: between the sperm donor and the mother’s partner, who is the legal parent?
Should a sperm donor be considered as the legal parent of a child conceived with his sperm? In an ongoing case, the Australian High Court is being called on to answer this question. The case involves a sperm donor, Robert Masson, who enabled Susan Parsons to conceive...
“I was implanted with a stranger’s embryos”
The trial relating to a complaint filed against the fertility clinic in Bregenz, Austria by a 44-year-old Swiss woman began on Monday. She has accused the clinic of implanting her with embryos "that were not hers". The woman began her course of ART treatment in...
Irish Bishops warn against an attack on doctors’ freedom of conscience
At their annual general meeting in Maynooth, the Irish Catholic Bishops reacted to last month’s announcement made by the National Maternity Hospital. The hospital said it will only accept doctors willing to perform abortions as it seeks to recruit an anaesthetist...
Freezing your own eggs? One in two British women is considering it
Around one in two women are thinking about oocyte cryopreservation. This is revealed in a study published by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), which shows that "many young women are worried about their fertility". According to the...
In South Africa: first transplants of middle-ear bones made using 3D technology
On Thursday, a South African medical team announced that it had fitted "transplants of small middle-ear bones [1] made using 3D printing". This is reportedly "a world first". The latest operation was performed on Wednesday at Steve Biko Hospital in Pretoria. It...
Cooperation with the FBI: FamilyTreeDNA nuances the availability of genetic data
FamilyTreeDNA, one of the leading US home genetic testing websites, was strongly criticized when it announced that the FBI would be allowed to use its genetic data to identify wanted criminals. The company has just announced that a clause will be inserted into users'...
Jewish Agency offers loans to staff seeking surrogacy abroad
The Jewish Agency for Israel is now the first public institution in Israel to help employees finance surrogacy services abroad. The loan is valued at approximately $11,000. Gay men prohibited by law from using surrogates in Israel are the first to benefit....
An American man sues abortion clinic for the death of his unborn foetus, recognized as co-plaintiff
In Alabama, a judge has allowed a man to sue an abortion clinic on behalf of his unborn foetus. This judge's decision, a first, is based on the law of "individual identity", which recognizes legal rights for unborn children. In his decree, Judge Frank Barger...
Two new U.S. states pass legislation banning abortion when a foetal heartbeat is detected
“If a heartbeat is used to determine the end of life, it should be used to establish when life begins," said Republican Congressman Ed Setzler, supporting his bill on Wednesday in the Georgia State Parliament in the United States. This law would prohibit any abortion...
Funding abortion services in developing countries: Ireland could change its policy
Last week, the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and foreign minister Simon Coveney launched A Better World, a new policy on aid for developing countries. This new plan is intended to guide the action of Irish Aid (the government's development aid programme) for the...
Record drop in abortions in Quebec
"The number of abortions in Quebec has reached its lowest level in 20 years". According to the Régie de l’Assurance Maladie du Québec (RAMQ) (Quebec health insurance board), 21,203 women had an abortion in 2017[1]. The Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec...