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“Baby factory” in Thailand: a doctor ready to give himself up to the police
Following the scandal triggered by the abandonment of Gammy – a baby with Down syndrome and born through surrogacy, a number of events have unfurled.(Gènéthique press review on August 4th, 2014) in Thailand, a series of events have unfurled In fact, Reuters’...
Riken scientists do not manage to reproduce STAP cells
Last January, a research team led by Professor Haruko Obokata, a scientist at the Riken Institute (Kobe – Japan), published articles in the Nature journal confirming that they had succeeded in creating a new type of pluripotent stem cell – STAP cells. Since then, the...
UK: another case where a handicapped child born through surrogacy is abandoned
The English language press have highlighted another case where a child with a genetic disorder was left with its surrogate mother by the couple requesting surrogacy. The surrogate mother was implanted with two embryos and gave birth to twins. At the birth, when the...
Israel: first successful kidney transplant following death due to cardiac arrest
According to the Jerusalem Post, for the first time in Israel, two patients have survived organ transplant surgery performed with the organs taken from a man who died from a cardiac arrest. The donor’s organs were placed in cold storage for two hours to preserve...
Can we regulate the international surrogacy market?
Elle.fr, in turn, has taken up the debate on surrogate mothers that has emerged following the “Gammy affair” and the resulting official investigation into the “baby factory” in Thailand. The women’s magazine has focused on the “spin-offs of the international surrogate...
90% of Canadian physicians in favour of conscientious objection
The Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Medical Association was held this week in Ottawa. A review of current policies regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide was up for discussion. At 90%, Canadian physicians voted largely in favour of an advisory...
Switzerland, – “death-related tourism” gains ground
Switzerland is one of the few countries in the world to have assisted suicide legislation. It also helps increasing numbers of foreigners to die. Assisted suicide is authorised provided that it is not carried out on “selfish” grounds, according to the...
The DNA market: sequencing and ethical issues
At the beginning of the month, David Cameron, British Prime Minister, announced that the United Kingdom intended to invest in order to have the “biggest genetic database in the world”. This investment marks the 2nd stage in his Genomic England project, which intends...
Ireland: Abortion and Human Rights
In an opinion column published in the Irish Times, William Binchy, lawyer and former Law Professor at Trinity College, Dublin (1992-2012), has reacted to the pressure generated by the UN in order to get abortion legalised in Ireland (Gènéthique press review on July...
Surrogacy: Thailand takes measures
The scandal caused by the abandonment of Baby Gammy born to a surrogate mother following a business agreement between an Australian couple and a young Thai woman, has triggered a reaction from authorities in Thailand. They have launched an official enquiry in order to...
China, the spin-offs of the surrogacy industry
Recently, several state media sources in China have revealed the spin-offs of the surrogacy industry. These are mostly due to the lack of legislation surrounding this issue and the legacy of the One-Child Policy leading to gender selective abortions. The...
Greece – the new Eldorado for infertile couples
Ever since the adoption in 2002 of a law authorising surrogacy on its territory, in 15 years Greece has become the leading European country for medically assisted procreation (MAP) and surrogacy. This summer, it took one step further, namely dispensing with the need...