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Iowa: beating heart? No abortion
In the US state of Iowa, the legislature has just adopted a more restrictive abortion law—the most restrictive in the country. As soon as Governor Kim Reynolds signs the law, abortion in Iowa will be banned “as soon as a foetal heartbeat is detected”, i.e. around the...
Computer algorithm failure in the United Kingdom – hundreds of breast-cancer cases not screened
In 2009, a computer algorithm failure occurred in a software programme used to invite British women over 50 to undergo routine breast cancer screening. “Latest estimates I have received from PHE[1] is that as a result of this, between 2009 and the start of...
Social services remove child born through surrogacy to British couple, considered too old for parenthood
A one-year-old born through surrogacy to a couple aged 65 and 63 has just been taken into care by UK Social Services who deem that the couple are “too old to look after the child”. The baby was conceived with the sperm of the 65-year-old man and a donor egg,...
Man forced to pay maintenance for child born through IVF without his consent
A German couple who froze embryos to delay having children face legal proceedings. In fact, following their divorce, the woman forged her ex-husband's signature on several occasions in order to undergo IVF. She gave birth to a baby boy without her ex-husband's...
Artificial intelligence in medicine: regulations at the heart of the debate
Although the States General on Bioethics consultation, which has just drawn to a close, highlighted numerous claims in terms of medically assisted reproduction and euthanasia, issues relating to the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the medical field...
Italy refuses to register a baby born through medically assisted reproduction to same-sex female couple
In Italy, a lesbian couple has been unable to register the birth of their baby at the public records office. Chiara Foglietta, a municipal councillor for the city of Turin, gave birth to Niccolo Pietro on 13 April 2018 following artificial insemination in a Danish...
Potential authorisation of genetic analyses on the deceased?
Put forward by Senator Alain Milon on 5 February 2018, a draft bill aimed at authorising genetic analyses on deceased persons" could be examined in a public session on 6 June"[1]. According to the Senator, it's a case of bringing scientific progress in terms of...
Boy or girl? The number of selective abortions could rise with new test delivering reliable results from the 8th week of pregnancy
A Brazilian team at the Sabin Laboratory in Brasilia, keen to extend the use of NIPT (non-invasive prenatal testing) which already covers Down syndrome and two other genetic diseases, has devised a test that can reveal baby's gender simply by taking a blood sample...
Medically assisted reproduction in the US – increasing numbers of thawed embryos
According to SART data[1], 71,296 babies were born following IVF treatment in 377 US clinics in 2016. At least 242,618 IVF cycles would have been required to generate this number of births. Each cycle comprises several weeks of hormone therapy to stimulate the...
Alfie – permanent ban on transfer to Italy – parents want to take Alfie home
On Wednesday evening, Judge Hayden once again rejected the parents' appeal and turned down the offer from the hospital in Rome to treat the sick toddler. "Alfie is dying", he said, confidently. However, Alfie has been breathing independently since Monday evening (only...
Tennessee: Senate approves memorial for abortion victims
Following in the footsteps of the Tennessee State House, the Senate has approved the erection of a monument "in memory of abortion victims" by twenty-three votes to three. Although the governor approves the legislation, the size of the monument has yet to be...
Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) available in Wales from Monday
Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething, wants Wales "to show the way" by making NIPT [1] available to pregnant women from next Monday. This new test is used to accurately diagnose genetic diseases by testing the mother's blood. It replaces amniocentesis "which carries a 1%...