Pets versus children
Pope Francis has an almost unrivalled gift for sparking controversy. Early last month he lamented the demographic winter – slowing global birth rates and rising...
Thailand may restore commercial surrogacy
In 2015 Thailand passed a law banning all commercial surrogacy for both Thai and international clients. “Altruistic surrogacy” is possible but severely restricted. This step...
Trans kids are using GoFundMe to pay for their transitions
The internet crowdfunding site GoFundMe does not hesitate to cancel fund-raising efforts which it deems objectionable. It froze millions of dollars in an account supporting...
Forced sterilization is legal in 30+ US states
Most Americans believe that forced sterilization is a human rights abuse that ended decades ago. But a report from the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC)...
Chinese gangs using ‘blood slaves’
Organ transplant technology has led to well-documented abuses. But it’s novel to hear of blood transfusion as a criminal activity. The South China Morning Post...
‘Beep, beep, beep’: the sound of going blind again
What happens when your life depends on a brilliant invention and the manufacturer stops supporting it? About 350 blind people fear the worst after a...
Italian euthanasia referendum sunk by Constitutional Court
The Italian Constitutional Court blocked a proposal for a national referendum on the right to die this week. The leading lobby group, Associazione Luca...
When should scientists proceed with heritable genetic engineering?
When should scientists proceed with heritable genetic engineering? Dr He Jiankui, of China, chose the wrong time. In 2018 he announced that he had genetically...
Iceland lashed over Down syndrome record at UN
Amongst the Byzantine traditions of the United Nations is the Universal Periodic Review in the Human Rights Council. This is a kind of triennial session...
No ethical obstacles to artificial gametes, says ethicist
While the development of induced pluripotent stem cells has opened up many avenues of research into promising therapies, it has also made possible the creation...
New implant from Switzerland offers promise for the paralyzed
On a cold, snowy day last December, Michel Roccati – an Italian man who became paralyzed after a motorcycle accident four years earlier – took...
Washington state may criminalise fertility fraud
As more and more people discover through DNA tests that they are “doctor-conceived” instead of donor-conceived, Washington State’s Senate Committee on Law and Justice is...