Search
Caen University Hospital Centre (CHU) applies Leonetti Law to young disabled woman and refuses to treat her
Léah is a young disabled woman aged nineteen. She suffered from alternating hemiplegia of childhood, which slowed down her motor and mental development and triggered bouts of epilepsy. The last episode occurred on 19 August 2018, culminating in a two-month stay in the...
Abortion in the US: lowest indicators in ten years
According to the new statistics report published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the number of abortions has hit a historic low. The annual report, entitled Abortion Surveillance - United States 2015, was published today and gives details on US abortion...
India – waiting lists to include foreigners in an attempt to curb transplant tourism
The Indian Department of Health has made the inclusion of non-Indians on organ transplant waiting lists in India a statutory requirement. It seems that private establishments currently focus on foreign transplant patients. Each transplant centre must now report...
“Die with dignity but never anticipate death”
"Helping a patient to die is one thing, making him or her die is something else". Last Tuesday, Monsignor Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life addressed students at Gemelli Hospital in Rome on the subject of end-of-life care. "Die with dignity...
Gamete donor anonymity in jeopardy
Currently, in the US, "the unprecedented rise in individual DNA testing enables those born from anonymous sperm or egg donation to identify their 'donor' in most cases". The system operates on the basis of "simple game of probability". At least ten million people have...
Surrogacy in Cambodia: Fifteen new arrests in Phnom Penh
Fifteen people were arrested in Cambodia on 8 November 2018 on suspicion of surrogacy. The group comprised eleven pregnant women, two men and two cooks. Surrogacy has been illegal in Cambodia since October 2016 (see Cambodia follows in the footsteps of India and...
Retinal implant restores sight in the visually impaired with age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
The French company Pixium Vision has just published the first results obtained with its new retinal implant. This implant known as Prima was implanted under the retina of the first five patients between December 2017 and June 2018. The interim results of the trial...
Down syndrome: novel eugenics from America?
Eugenics is often likened to 20th century Nazi ideology and its government-run programmes aimed at killing thousands of Germans with disabilities in an attempt to "purify" the race. Or to the forced sterilisation of 60,000 people "with defects", sanctioned by the US...
Surrogacy now available to homosexuals in the Netherlands
Although surrogacy was already available to heterosexual couples in the Netherlands, two clinics are planning to introduce surrogacy contracts for homosexuals from 2019 onwards. In the one clinic, the procedure involves an egg donation by the surrogate mother whilst...
Canada – advertisement for medical assistance in dying airs in waiting room
In Canada, patients at the William Osler Health System hospital saw the following message on an advertising screen: "Medical assistance in dying is a legal medical service in Canada, whereby physicians or nurse practitioners help eligible patients fulfil their wish to...
Pre-conception screening: Australian trial to allow “informed procreative choices”
A clinical trial for pre-conception screening has been officially launched in Australia. The aim is to test the viability of a pre-conception screening programme for subsequent integration into the Australian health system. Researchers will assess its viability,...
Assisted suicide: lobbying in Switzerland has international impact
Several Swiss right-to-die organisations are politically and legally active abroad in a drive to push assisted suicide. Eternal Spirit is a typical example with the president of this organisation advocating legally assisted suicide in talk shows and international...