Austrian restrictions on IVF upheld
The European Court of Human Rights has upheld an Austrian ban on sperm and ova donations. By a vote of 13 to 4, the Court’s...
Canadian expert report endorses euthanasia
A lengthy report on euthanasia commissioned by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) has strongly recommended the legalisation of assisted suicide and euthanasia. The six-person...
British Columbia’s supreme court to hear assisted suicide challenge
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association has launched a constitutional challenge to a ban on assisted suicide. It is representing several plaintiffs, including Gloria Taylor,...
Waste not, want not
The editor of the leading journal Bioethics, Udo Schulenk regards capital punishment as a “barbaric practice”, it seems a shame to waste potentially life-saving organs...
Another celebrity surrogacy in UK
Rebekah Brooks, the former editor of News of the World who was arrested over the phone hacking at the defunct tabloid, is in the headlines...
Marketing and science clash in Gardasil debate
Gardasil, Merck’s vaccine against the human papilloma virus, the most common sexually transmitted disease, is once again at the centre of political, moral, bioethical and...
Chimpanzee hepatitis C research in the firing line
Experiments on chimpanzees have often horrified animal rights advocates and worried the medical community. Experiments on chimpanzees have often horrified animal rights advocates and worried...
Alcoholics get second chance at liver transplants
Gravely ill alcoholics who need a liver transplant should not always have to prove they can stay sober for six months to get one, doctors...
Vatican stem cell conference: comment
A two-day international conference on stem cell research was held at the Vatican this week. A two-day international conference on stem cell research was held...
The murky waters of informed consent
Hi there, Informed consent is a cornerstone of modern bioethics. It seems to have a flinty strength, but when put to the test, it begins...
Informed consent in Netherlands: euthanasia
A 64-year-old Dutch woman with dementia was euthanased earlier in March, it has been revealed. According to the Dutch daily De Volkskrant, it was the...
Controversy over shortages of cadavers for medical schools
A shortage of cadavers for students and a growing number of unclaimed bodies is leading to a revival of a 19th century practice.A shortage of...