Search
Late abortion and infanticide: a midwife’s testimony
Neonatal infanticide does not come under the remit of the Council of Europe - this is what the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Nils Muinieks claimed on 19 November 2014 (See Gènéthique 24-11-2014 press review). However, Grégor Puppinck,...
The Netherlands: doctors in favour of organ donation by euthanized patients
In the Netherlands, doctors are currently in the process of drafting protocols which could increase the number of organs available for transplantation. How? By collecting organs from patients who have requested euthanasia. If the procedure is ratified, it would...
Surrogacy: heading towards the closure of “baby factories” in Thailand
Last August, the whole world learned that an Australian couple who had commissioned a Thai surrogate mother, abandoned the Down syndrome baby, Gammy, taking only his "healthy" twin sister. A few weeks later, the media revealed the case of a rich Japanese man believed...
Switzerland: the general public are asked to voice an opinion on pre-implantation genetic diagnosis
In Switzerland, the hearing of the draft bill on genetic testing within the scope of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) entered its last phase on Monday, 24 November. In June 2014, the National Council declared itself in favour of pre-implantation genetic diagnostics...
Before the European Parliament, Pope Francis calls for the recognition of human dignity
In a keynote speech delivered to the European Parliament on Tuesday, 25 November, Pope Francis reminded delegates of the importance of “promoting human dignity” to greater extent because “there are too many situations in which human beings are treated as objects, the...
40% of pregnancies are aborted in Vietnam
Vietnam has exercised a 2-child policy for many years. This programme is based on administrative sanctions and active family planning. Nowadays, abortion is used as a method of contraception in this country. In fact, a report by doctors working in the Hanoi...
Israel: 75% of PGD requests favour the selection of male foetuses
According to the Israeli National Institute for Health Policy Research, 75% of Israelis requesting pre-implantation genetic diagnosis do so in order to ensure that they have a son instead of a daughter. Amongst the Arab Israeli population, 100% of PGD requests are...
Disability and newborn infants: is France heading down the eugenics path?
In September 2014, the French media focused on the case of little Titouan, an extremely premature baby whose parents wished to withdraw life support. This week, the press has highlighted the first in-utero operation performed on a foetus with a congenital deformity...
High-tech – the future of health care?
The third “Exponential Medicine” conference focusing on “the acceleration of progress in numerical technology” was held in San Diego, California, from 9 to 12 November 2014. It was organised by the Singularity University, “the university of the future founded by...
Natacha Polony: The freezing of eggs, “progress” serving profit
In mid-October, the NBC News channel revealed that Facebook and Apple were prepared to help finance the freezing of their employees’ oocytes (eggs) in order to allow them to delay pregnancy (Gènéthique press review on October 15th, 2014 and October 17th, 2014)....
First operation performed in utero on a foetus affected by a congenital deformity
For the first time in France, a foetus presenting with a congenital deformity, spina bifida, underwent surgery during the 5th month of pregnancy. The operation was performed in July 2014 and the child was born on 8 November by Caesarean section. “Both mother and...
Wide scale distribution of a new contraceptive in poor countries
An agreement has been reached between Pfizer, the American laboratory, the Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation to distribute a new contraceptive in 69 poor countries. The large scale availability of this contraceptive will be based on a...