News - Announcements

Seminar: Basic Principles in Palliative Care
The course is being organized by the Hellenic Center for Biomedical Ethics with the cooperation of the Hospice Casa Sperantei (Brasov, Romania). The participants will include qualified physicians, nurses, social workers and psychologists.

Mosquito blood 'identifies thief' (22.12.2008)
Police in Finland believe they have caught a car thief from a DNA sample taken from a mosquito they noticed inside an abandoned vehicle.

Vatican hardens opposition to stem cell research (15.12.2008)
The Vatican hardened its opposition Friday to using embryos for stem cell research, cloning and in-vitro fertilization. But in a major new document on bioethics, it showed flexibility on some forms of gene therapy and left open questions surrounding embryo adoption.

Europe DNA ruling resonates in UK (4.12.2008)
The European Court of Human Rights has spoken with a strong and clear voice-retaining indefinitely the DNA and fingerprint records of unconvicted suspects is unlawful.

Luxembourg to strip Duke of powers over euthanasia (3.12.2008)
Luxembourg's government plans to strip Grand Duke Henri's power to sanction laws after he signaled he would not sign a bill legalizing euthanasia.

UK and USA 'team up' for stem cell research (27.10.2008)
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and the UK's Medical Research Council (MRC) have signed an agreement that supports collaborations between the two countries. Teams of scientists from the UK and California will now be able to file joint grant applications for funding into stem cell research, in an attempt to form international partnerships to amplify research.

New embryo test could detect thousands of hereditary disorders (27.10.2008)
UK scientists have developed a new screening technique that could allow prospective parents to test their IVF embryos for any known genetic disease. The test, dubbed 'a genetic MoT', would cost just £1500 and could be available by next year pending licensing by the Human Fertilisation.

Nuffield Council on Bioethics: New ethics study on technology that is making healthcare more 'personal' (16.10.2008)
Inquiry: Personalised healthcare: ethical issues.

General Assembly ban on all human cloning to be reconsidered by UN ethics panel (13.10.2008)
The permissibility of therapeutic cloning will be the focus of a United Nations ethics panel later this month when it considers whether a non-binding General Assembly declaration calling on Member States to ban all forms of human cloning should be reassessed in light of scientific, ethical, social, political and legal advances.

Victorian parliament approves equal access to IVF (13.10.2008)
New laws that grant lesbian couples and single women equal access to IVF have been passed by MPs voting in Victoria's Parliament. The Assisted Reproductive Treatment bill was approved by 47 votes to 34, in a three day debate that lasted in the early hours.

UK: Fight to use dead husband's sperm (8.10.2008)
A widow is battling to use sperm taken from the body of her dead husband, in a British legal first. The woman, who cannot be named, wants to use sperm taken from her husband after he died unexpectedly during a routine hospital operation last year.

New Zealand: Church opposes baby sex selection (6.10.2008)
A recommendation from a committee of Protestant bioethical experts calling for a ban on sex selection for non-medical reasons was voted in virtually unopposed at the Presbyterians' biannual general assembly. The Bioethics Council, a ministerial advisory committee, recommended in June that the ban on using pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to select a baby's sex purely for social reasons be lifted.

OK to rent womb in India (6.10.2008)
India's Supreme Court has not only confirmed what everyone already knew, that surrogacy is a commercial industry in the country, but it also ruled that renting a womb is legal.

Pontificia Academia Pro Vita: Announcement of the 15th PAV General Assembly (6.10.2008)
On 20th and 21st February 2009, on the occasion of the 15th General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life, there will take place, as in the programme, the International Congress: "The Challenge of Eugenics: Science, Ethics and Faith in Dialogue". As usual, the Congress will be followed on 22nd by the Generel Assembly which is restricted only to those who are Members of the Academy.

Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics: Newsletter September 2008
"End of Life Decisions: Ethics in clinical practice, research and policy". (September 2008)

World Medical Association launches on line Medical Ethics Course for Physicians
A new online medical ethics course has been launched by the World Medical Association. Provided in cooperation with the Norwegian Medical Association, the course is designed primarily for physicians, but can be undertaken by any health professionals.

Official Statements of the Bioethics Committee of the Church of Greece in French and Russian

Recent Official Documents

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Bioethics News Resources

Bioethics.net, The American Journal of Bioethics

Bioethics & Today's News
Johns Hopkins University Bioethics Institute

CNN's ethicsmatters
From the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics and CNN Interactive.