IVF child to have grandma, but no pa and no ma
Marissa Evans, broken-hearted, watched her 21-year-old son die in hospital. When doctors told her it was time to turn off his life support, the 44-year-old...
A bigger whiteboard, please
I used to get headaches studying the genealogies of the royal houses of Europe. Just the House of Windsor, which stretches back only to George...
Does bioethics have a future?
Despite pugnacious assertions of right and wrong, permissible and impermissible, the future of bioethics (and perhaps bioethicists, as well) is often clouded by self-doubt. Few...
Adult stem cells create artificial windpipe
For the first time a working artificial windpipe using a patient’s own adult stem cells has been created. A 36-year-old Eritrean man had a rare...
BC government appeals sperm donor ruling
The British Columbia government is appealing a judicial ruling in May which abolished sperm donor anonymity. It was the first of its kind in the...
Germany legalises pre-implantation genetic diagnosis
The German parliament has legalised pre-implantation genetic diagnosis after a long debate over three competing proposals. The bill was passed on a conscience vote. PGD...
And the first prize is… IVF!
A British non-profit is touting a raffle whose prize is IVF treatment at one of London’s five best IVF clinics. To Hatch, a new charity...
Are Indian doctors turning girls into boys for parents who wanted a son?
If you are looking for lurid consequences of India’s worsening gender ratio, look no longer. Millions of girls are missing, aborted because of a deeply...
Spain’s stolen generation
My hunch is that the lead story of this week’s newsletter sheds light on some of the most contested issues in today’s bioethics, reproductive technology’s...
Spain’s stolen generation
A painful chapter of Spain’s 1936-39 Civil War – the removal of children from mothers who were political opponents to be adopted out or even...
Swiss back off restrictions on assisted suicide
Despite controversy at home and abroad over its law on assisted suicide, the Swiss government has decided not to modify it. Instead, it plans to...
German docs keep ban on assisted suicide
After a heated debate German doctors have voted to maintain a ban on doctors assisting patients who wish to commit suicide. The vote was convincing:...