Russia sanctions Western parents seeking surrogate mothers
In the bewildering world of tit-for-tat economic sanctions, Russia is coming off much better than anyone expected after it invaded Ukraine. President Biden tweeted on...
The perilous world of Facebook sperm donors
Using Facebook to find a sperm donor is very dangerous. This is the lesson from a judgement handed down in the UK Family Court. Mrs...
Swiss doctors back restrictions on assisted suicide
The Swiss Medical Association has clarified its attitude toward assisted suicide – and it is very restrictive in the face of growing pressures for liberalisation....
Orphaned embryos in the care of an orphan
Apologies for overlooking this story from seven years ago. But it is so thought-provoking that it deserves to be reported. I stumbled across it in...
Euthanasia makes clean sweep of Australian states
The Australian state of New South Wales legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide last week. Members of the Upper House supported the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2022 by...
Should institutions enjoy freedom of conscience?
One of the most difficult issues in contemporary bioethics is “institutional freedom of conscience”. Should a healthcare facilities or nursing homes in a liberal democracy...
‘I can feel your pain’ — should we feel good after hearing this?
“What makes something better is connection.” Doctors and nurses have been educated to prize empathy as an essential skill in caring for patients, as this...
Is eco-anxiety grounds for euthanasia?
Vancouver man Howard Breen, 68, has applied for Medical Aid in Dying, Canada’s pathway to legal euthanasia. He is not terminally ill, but he is...
UK babies may have their whole genome sequenced at birth
In the UK, as in many other countries, hospitals routinely conduct a heelprick blood test on newborns shortly after they are born. The blood sample...
Covid chronicles: an abandoned surrogate baby
International surrogacy has been a big topic during the Covid pandemic. Commissioning parents were stranded on one side of a border and their surrogate and...
More pushback after SCOTUS leak
A number of journalists and politicians have issued dire forecasts of what will happen if the US Supreme Court does strike down Roe v. Wade...
Did legalizing abortion in Ethiopia lead to fewer deaths?
In 2005 Ethiopia legalized abortion in the hope of reducing maternal mortality. Its law was quite liberal – more or less like abortion legislation in...