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In Quebec, medical aid in dying considered before palliative care?
A ground-breaking study published in La Presse [1] reveals that in Quebec, some patients received Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) before other end-of-life options were offered to them. According to the study, “when MAiD was legalized in Quebec three years ago, the...
In Belgium, launch of a clinical trial for the treatment of brain damaged patients
In Belgium, a clinical trial has just been announced by NeuroHealing Pharmaceuticals (USA) and the Coma Science Group (University of Liège) to develop a treatment for recovery from coma. At the Coma Science Group and the William Lennox Neurological Hospital...
“Canada Summer Jobs”: the government backs down
Canadian employers are no longer required to recognize women's sexual and reproductive rights and access to abortion. This condition for benefiting from subsidies for hiring youth for summer jobs, created last year, caused an outcry from religious organisations, as...
GMO babies: International condemnation?
Experts at the Hong Kong summit [1] have unanimously condemned the work of He Jiankui, who claims to have created genetically edited twin girls. In a press release published this morning, the experts called for "an independent enquiry to confirm this statement...
In Caen, judges rule that the University Hospital Centre should treat Léah “like any other patient”
The judgement in the case of Caen University Hospital Centre v. the parents of a young disabled woman aged 19, instructs the hospital to treat Léah, although she is disabled, because she is not an end-of-life patient and her case does not come under the Leonetti law...
In Belgium, substantial increase in requests for official gender reassignment
In 2018, 1,625 requests for official gender reassignment were registered in Belgium, i.e. 1/3 of register entries over the last 25 years. 42% concern individuals under 25 years of age. 71% of these are young Flemish transgender males. This phenomenon...
Kenya: Ministry of Health bans Marie Stopes International from offering abortion services in the country
Kenya has forbidden Marie Stopes International, the British abortion giant, from performing any abortion on Kenyan soil, and is demanding a detailed account of its activities. Following a citizen's petition, the Ministry of Health has appointed a medical committee to...
Woman develops lymph node cancer following kidney transplant
"Nobody should be fighting somebody else's cancer. […] It's not even my cancer I'm fighting now, it's someone else's cancer, which makes it harder for me." Pauline Hunt, aged 49, is from Scotland. She underwent kidney transplant surgery last December. A new...
Defective medical implants – an international health scandal
Following an international enquiry into defective medical implants—Implant Files, launched in 2014—there have been calls for a European marketing authorisation for implants after a comparative study with a benefit/risk ratio, as with medicinal products. To date,...
Ovarian tissue autograft to preserve the fertility of women with cancer
In France, up to June 2018, ovarian tissue autografts "were authorised only within the scope of research". The technique can restore fertility in women with cancer. "Chemotherapy is toxic for the ovaries", explains Professor Michael Grynberg, head of the...
Noel Conway, end of the road – British Supreme Court refuses to grant assisted suicide
Noel Conway has just lost his appeal before the British Supreme Court. This 68year-old British citizen has a degenerative neurone disease and is requesting assisted suicide[1]. The British Court of Justice turned down his request in October 2017[2]. He then lost his...
Ireland: nurses and midwives follow in doctors’ footsteps and refuse to practise abortion
In Ireland, a group of nurses and midwives has joined forces with doctors and announced their refusal to take part in abortion services. They explain that, in the case of surgical abortions, they are supposed to administer pre-surgical care, which they are refusing to...