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Abortion is decriminalised in the United Kingdom
Abortion was decriminalised in the United Kingdom on 13 March. This heralds a "symbolic" change that "will not affect the number and frequency of abortions" authorised since 1967 in the UK. Performed "under strict medical control"up to this point, access to abortion...
eGenesis launches xenotransplantation trial
The eGenesis start-up project has collected €38 million to finance porcine DNA modification trials. The aim is to create organ reservoirs for human transplants. Scientists will use the CRISPR genome editing technique to introduce genetic modifications into porcine...
Three-parent IVF: first British licence
In the United Kingdom, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has granted the first licence to carry out three-parent IVFto the Newcastle Fertility Centre. According to the centre, the first babies will be born in 2018 to couples where the woman is carrying...
Genome editing used to treat retinal degeneration?
On 14 March, a team led by scientists at the National Eye Institute announced in Nature Communications that a treatment applying CRISPR- Cas9 directly to the eye by means of a viral carrier prevented retinal degeneration in a mouse with retinitis pigmentosa. ...
Japan: iPS cells save the sight of a female patient
An 80 year-old woman has been treated successfully with induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in Japan. A small number of retinal cells created in the laboratory protected her sight by combating her age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) - a current form of...
Bolivia: extending conditions for accessing abortion – draft bill causes controversy
The Bolivian Government has triggered "lively controversy" by proposing to extend abortion options. The bill in question "proposes that abortion should be available for the first eight weeks of pregnancy for all women of no fixed abode or extreme poverty and for...
“Euthanasia supporters are constantly finding new boundaries to cross and new legislation to transgress”
In the Australian State of Victoria, a draft bill is being prepared to legalise assisted suicide. For Paul Russell, this type of legislation is an illusion. Euthanasia supporters always want to go beyond what is legally permitted. "The best protection is quite simply...
United Kingdom: the Lords “do not want disabled babies to see the light of day”
The draft bill proposed by Lord Shinkwin, aimed at restricting disability-selective abortion, has been rejected. In the United Kingdom, a disabled foetus can be aborted up to the end of pregnancy but Lord Shinkwin, who has a disability, recommended restricting this...
Pharmacists’ conscience clause undermined in England
In England, pharmacists can no longer refuse to dispense contraceptives, the morning-after pill, fertility treatment or hormone therapies on the grounds of conscientious objection. The conscience clause which, up until now, allowed them to direct these patients to a...
Faced with Donald Trump, the European Union insists on making abortion a major challenge
The EU agrees on rejecting the decisions taken by Trump’s administration concerning aborting, but seems to have forgotten that the subject is outside its control and is stifling the voices that denounce abortion. The “Mexico City policy”, reestablished by Trump...
CRISPR: recent Chinese publication reveals tests on human embryos
AChinese study published in the Molecular genetics and genomics journal assesses research into human embryos to correct genetic mutations with the CRISPR technique. Scientists have used a total of six "viable human embryos". Previous tests "on abnormal embryos"...
Organ donation increasing in Quebec
On Thursday, Transplant Quebec published its 2016 annual statement on organ donation: "Quebec hospitals are witnessing more organ donations and fewer refusals from families". This information is "encouraging" according to the organisation which is receiving more and...