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Why do French women more systematically have recourse to Down Syndrome testing? Comparative analysis
“When testing questions birth”. Last 8th and 9th June, the Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales (School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Paris) organized two days of reflection around prenatal diagnosis (PND). Among the various discussions, one of...
Two years after the authorisation of 3-parent IVF in England – the downside of a hasty decision
The first symposium focusing on the sociological aspects related to mitochondrial diseases and new reproductive technologies was held in London on 7 May 2017. This symposium allowed debates surrounding the legalisation of 3-parent IVF in 2015 to be reviewed...
United States: insurance companies prefer assisted dying to treatment
In the United States, insurance companies in states where assisted suicide is now legal are refusing to cover vital treatment for some patients and are offering them "assistance to end their own lives" instead. Brian Callister, Associate Professor of...
California: doctor accused of killing a child to harvest his organs
In California, 4 years after the incident, a doctor is accused of killing a child to harvest his organs. An inquiry was launched on 12 June 2017. On 31 July 2013, young Cole Hartmann, who was autistic, was the victim of a domestic accident. He was taken as an...
Three-parent IVF to rejuvenate eggs: a lucrative market
The start-up company, Darwin Life, recently launched by American physician, John Zhang, offers three-parent IVF[1] (seeOne baby, 3 DNA, 3 transgressions) for women between 42 and 47 years of age, for the sum of $100,000. "Challenging", the doctor...
In Angola, abortion is finally prohibited except in the case of rape or if the mother’s life is in danger
On revising its penal code, Angola wanted to re-examine abortion legislation. In a bill adopted after the first reading by MPs, women choosing to undergo an abortion were likely to face criminal proceedings and a prison sentence of up to ten years except when...
Porcine cells to treat Parkinson’s disease?
Living Cell Technologies, a New Zealand company, is developing treatment using porcine cells transplanted to the brain of patients with Parkinson's disease in an attempt to halt disease progression. Four patients have undergone this type of transplant and doctors...
California: more than 500 prescriptions one year on from the legalisation of medically assisted dying
A study carried out by Compassion and Choices, one year after the legalisation of assisted suicide (see California's turn to legalise medically assisted dying), has revealed that more than 500 people obtained a prescription to end their own life in California....
Born before the end of the legal time limit for abortion: the story of one of GB’s most premature babies
Baby Austin arrived on 31 March 2017, 18 weeks early. He didn't weigh more than 570 grams. His skin was so fine that his organs could be seen through it, and his ears and lungs had not developed. In the United Kingdom, abortion is authorised up to the 24th week...
Ethics or morality: why make a distinction?
Should one invoke Ethics or morality? Though this question is not a new one, the distinction resurfaces every time the field of action of science is about to be extended. As if to justify certain transgressive practices. François-Xavier Putallaz[1], professor of...
United Kingdom: The Supreme Court denies Ireland free abortion
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom rendered its judgement in a case involving the Secretary of State for Health, accused of denying women living in Northern Ireland free access to Abortion in England. With a majority of 2 out of 3, the Supreme Court...
The Netherlands: the court authorises DNA sampling of a former sperm bank director
On Friday, the Dutch courts authorised DNA sampling from the personal effects of Jan Karbaat, a former sperm bank director who died recently. He is suspected to be the biological father of children born to twenty-two recipients who underwent in-vitro fertilisation...