Search
Development of a new in-vitro fertilisation technique
Professor Nick Macklon, Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton (Great Britain), has developed a new in-vitro fertilisation technique, AneVivo. Using this technique, “fertilisation occurs in the natural environment of the uterus...
Do healthcare facilities have the right to refuse to carry out an act of euthanasia ?
In Belgium, the words of Monseigneur de Kesel, archbishop of Malines-Brussels, concerning conscientious objection in Belgian hospitals, caused a lot of controversy. Very quickly, they were relayed by the announcement of the refusal by a catholic rest home to accept...
Switzerland: organ donations increased in 2015
For Swisstransplant, the Swiss national foundation in charge of organ donation and transplantation, 2015 was “the best year for organ donations in Switzerland”: 143 people who died donated their organs in 2015 (i.e. 17.4 donors per million inhabitants), compared to...
Obamacare: religious institutions submit a request to the Supreme Court
In the United States, several institutions and Christian educational institutions“have submitted a request to the Supreme Court within the scope of the hearing organised by the latter in March on the Obamacare ‘Contraceptive Mandate[1]”. This focuses on the case...
Haematopoietic stem cell transplants to treat multiple sclerosis
Several hospitals around the world (United States, Brazil, Sweden and the United Kingdom) have been taking part in an international study since 2006 in order to “evaluate the long-term effects of stem cell transplantation”. In this respect, the Royal Hallamshire...
ECHR: “it is in the child’s interest to know the truth about his/her origins”
On Thursday 14 January, the ECHR issued a decree stating that, “it is in a child’s best interests to know the truth about his/her biological origin and the law recognises his/her true parentage, even if this goes against the child’s wishes”. The ECHR had been...
Canada: an extra 4 months granted for the implementation of medically assisted dying
In Canada, the Supreme Court held that two articles in the criminal code banning medically assisted dying were unconstitutional (see Canadian Government rethinks legislation to authorise assisted suicide). The Canadian Government had one year to rewrite the law....
An end of January “grant for surrogate mothers”
Babybloom Homoparentalité is organising a “grant for surrogate mothers” on 29 and 30 January in Brussels and on 31 January in Paris in an attempt to “help provide information for couples wishing to create a family”. The information is being circulated...
A Californian judge confirms the decision taken by a hospital based on its beliefs
On Thursday, a San Francisco judge refused to force a catholic hospital to authorise the sterilisation of a patient following the birth of her third child. Judge Ernest Goldsmith essentially recognised the right of the Catholic hospital, theMerci Medical Center...
Organ donation in Great Britain: family consent will no longer be required
In Great Britain, the NHS Blood and Transplant(NHSBT) service, which handles organ donation, has announced that it will no longer ask the relatives of the deceased for their consent in cases where the potential donors are listed in the NHS register. In...
The American Family Planning Association files a complaint
On Thursday, the American Family Planning Association, Planned Parenthood,filed a complaint before a San Francisco District Court against the authors of videos showing members of the American Family Planning Association involved in the sale of aborted foetal tissues...
NIPS will soon be recommended to women in British hospitals
In Great Britain, the UK National Screening Committee,which advises health authorities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, has published its recommendations for generalising non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS). British public NHS...