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Genetically modified human embryos: crossing the red line?
Members of the Hinxton group – an international network of scientists, bioethicists, lawyers and political experts met last week in Great Britain and declared themselves “in favour of genetically modifying human embryos”. According to this expert group,...
Freezing of oocytes: warning from British experts
British experts from the British Fertility Society (BFS) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) – the two main organisations representing fertility professionals in Great Britain – are taking stock of oocyte freezing. The approach appeals to...
Gripped with emotion, California is set to legalise assisted suicide
Following in the footsteps of Oregon, the State of Washington, Montana and Vermont, it is now California’s turn to legalise assisted suicide. On Wednesday, the Californian Assembly voted in (by 43 votes to 34) a draft bill authorising doctors “to provide...
Spain limits abortion for minors
On Wednesday, 9 September 2015, the Spanish Senate approved the final version of the reform of the abortion law, initiated by Mariano Rajoy in 2013(cf. Synthèse de presse Gènéthique des 3 septembre 2013, 24 mars 2015 et du 15 avril 2015). The reform was...
Law on end-of-life in the United Kingdom – a cry for help from a Paralympic athlete
"When Parliament debates the draft law next Friday I will encourage the Prime Minister to see that this law on assisted suicide could affect the most vulnerable people in society". Eleven-times Paralympic medallist and former British athlete, Tanni...
Belgium: The disturbing “end-of-life” card
In Belgium, the European Bioethics Institute (EBI), which launched an “end-of-life dignity card” in 2008, is nowadays proposing an “end-of-life” card, which has sparked fierce opposition from euthanasia supporters. This is especially true because this card,...
The European Parliament bans the sale of cloned animals
On Tuesday, 8 September 2015, the European Parliament adopted the first reading of a bill banning the sale of cloned animals, bred using a specific feeding strategy, as well as their descendants and products they generate, within the European Union. In 2013, the...
Heading towards new techniques for screening autism-related problems?
Canadian scientists have discovered new genetic markers of problems related to autism. These discoveries were made by Doctor Stephen Scherer’s team at the Toronto Hôpital des Enfants Malades (Hospital for Sick Children). Research was carried out on 258 autistic...
Call from British religious leaders to oppose draft law on medically assisted dying
The draft law on medically assisted dying, which is about to be presented to the British Parliament, has triggered reactions from the country’s main religious leaders. Representatives of the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities in Great...
The UN’s sustainable development programme does not satisfy those in favour of abortion
Since 2012, the UN has been working with various international partners to “safeguard sustainable development beyond 2015”. An initial vote held on 2 August focused on a sustainable development programme comprising 17 objectives[1]. This programme was adopted by the...
The birth of the first “three-parent baby”: a dangerous and irresponsible precedent
Yesterday, the New Scientist disclosed the birth of the "first three-parent" child - information that was later confirmed by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). The child, Abrahim Hassan, was born on 6 April in Mexico: "The medical team...
CRISPR/Cas9: New calls for ethical regulations
The emergence of the new CRISPR-Cas9 technology, which allows all types of genes to be edited, including those present in human embryos, is triggering a new wave of debates. Following the concerns voiced by various American and French scientists, (See Gènéthique...