BIOETHICS NEWS from UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE VALENCIA

nº 44 Contact us HERE   Mayo de 2016

REPORTS

Who decides what to do when a foetal abnormality is diagnosed; surrogate mother or contacting parents? The “professional model” defends the right of the surrogate mother to decide to have or not an abortion. Pregnancy in a woman other than the biological… Read more.

Latest discovery helps to understand the amazing fertilisation process The knowledge of the chemical structures that govern the fertilisation process — opens up new possibilities for intervention, with as yet unknown consequences. A recent article presents new findings on the mechanism by which the sperm and egg can mutually recognise each other during… Read more.

NEWS

A new step to facilitate, even more, assisted suicide in the Netherlands Who is providing assisted suicide or euthanasia, physicians or activists? Not all assisted suicide requests are granted by physicians, with rates… Read more.

Engineering and biology combined to create a minimal genome An article by Craig Venter and his team was published in Science, in which they described how they obtained an organism with the smallest genome of any known form of cell life. Furthermore… Read more.

Use of organs from babies born with lethal malformation for transplants. An ethical approach The British National Health Service is encouraging pregnant women whose unborn child has some sort of lethal malformation… Read more.

IN BRIEF

“Baby factories” providing children for sale in Nigeria These “baby factories” refer to buildings where encourage young girls or women to give birth to children for sale on the black market, often to infertile couples, singles, homosexuals or to organ trafficking rings… Read more.

Discovery of alterations in a gene which when altered causes infertility Approximately 15% of couples suffer from infertility. This may due to either a male or female factor. A new step has now been taken in the search for the causes of it, with the discovery of alterations in the gene which when altered, interrupts oocyte maturation… Read more.

Number of women attending assisted reproduction clinics increased The number of women aged between 15 and 44 years old who attend infertility clinics has increased during this time period, but the number of births following assisted reproduction… Read more.

The psychological effects of womb transplants are evaluated As we previously reported, the first child has been born following womb transplants (Lancet 385; 607-616, 2015). The first clinical trial on uterus transplants commenced in 2013, and included nine women. Of the 9 transplants, the wombs … Read more.

Progress in favour of life. Oklahoma restricts abortion pills On 23rd February 2016, Oklahoma Supreme Court in the United States backed the validity of the law that established stricter regulation. In 2014, the Oklahoma Legislature passed law H.B. 2684 banning the use… Read more.

Relationship with its mother during pregnacy conditions its subsequent emotional responses A recent study has found that the type of relationship that a child has with its mother during her pregnancy (foetal development), and with its family during the first year of life, conditions… Read more.

Assisted dying bill. The British Medical Association opposes it If the Assisted Dying Bill was passed it would apply to terminally ill patients in England and Wales. The website of the British Medical Association (BMA) states … Read more.