Headlines
Constitutionalisation of abortion in France: a high-risk symbol
Temps de lecture : 3 min.
At Versailles on Monday 4 March 2024, French parliamentarians meeting in Congress voted 780 to 52 to include the freedom to have an abortion in the Constitution. The single article aimed at amending article 34 of the Constitution was added to the...
PMA: René Frydman criticises the absolutism of the desire for a child
Temps de lecture : 1 min.
"(...) sometimes you may have to give up medicine before it becomes harmful". Coming from René Frydman, a leading gynaecologist and "father" of France's first IVF baby, this sentence, taken from his latest book La tyrannie de la reproduction, may ...
Protection of the embryo: the Alabama Supreme Court recognises that embryos are "unborn children"
Temps de lecture : 1 min.
The ruling was prompted by a complaint lodged against a clinic by three couples whose embryos stored for in vitro fertilisation were accidentally destroyed in 2020. The Supreme Court based its decision on the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act of 1872....
Gender reassignment: more and more Belgian teenagers are being prescribed puberty blockers
Temps de lecture : 1 min.
More and more teenagers in Belgium are taking puberty blockers to halt the sexual development of their bodies during adolescence. In just three years, 60% more of them have been prescribed these hormone treatments by their doctors, in an attempt...
Euthanasia in Belgium: 15% increase in 2023 - Towards a normalisation of programmed death
Temps de lecture : 1 min.
On Tuesday 27 February, the Federal Commission for the Control and Evaluation of Euthanasia in Belgium (CFCEE) released the figures for euthanasia declared in 2023. The number of euthanasia procedures officially carried out last year has reached a...
From induced death to useful death: increasing organ donation after euthanasia in Quebec
Temps de lecture : 1 min.
According to a study by the Canadian Medical Association Journal published in January, the number of organ donors who die by euthanasia in Quebec has risen from 4.9% (8 out of 164 donors) in 2018 to 14% (24 out of 171 donors) in 2022. While organ...
“End of life stories” to prepare for death: the Amfora association renews the approach to palliative care
Temps de lecture : 1 min.
What is important to me? How do I see my life? What does death mean to me? These existential questions can be difficult to address at the very end of life. Yet they are essential and can help us to live through this special time with greater peace ...
Olivia Maurel, born through GPA, testifies to the wounds this practice inflicted on her
Temps de lecture : 1 min.
"I’m unable to stay silent while I still struggle with the traumatic legacy of surrogacy" Now aged 31, Olivia Maurel is testifying publicly for the first time about the trauma generated in her by the surrogacy from which she was born. First on s...
Guy Dembour, a life devoted to revolutionizing the approach to disability
Temps de lecture : 1 min.
Dr Guy Dembour's mission is to highlight the special abilities of children with Down's Syndrome, focusing on their potential rather than their deficiency. A cardiopediatrician and founder in 2001 of Constridel, a multidisciplinary consultation at...
France and Belgium: abortion remains an icon of ideological battles
Temps de lecture : 2 min.
On January 30, at the French National Assembly, a large majority of deputies voted in favor of a bill to enshrine women’s “guaranteed freedom” to have an abortion in the Constitution. The text still has to be examined by the Senate on February 28....
Briefing Note : 2022 Report Euthanasia Commission in Belgium
Temps de lecture : 11 min.
Since 2002, 27.226 people have been officially euthanised in Belgium. The figures for the last two years (2020 and 2021) are 2.445 and 2.700 cases respectively. The year 2021 was therefore characterised by a 10.4% increase in declared...
Animal-human Chimeras : State of Play and Bioethical Questions
Temps de lecture : 25 min.
The recent development of experiments with chimeras (i.e. an individual carrying cells with different DNA) could stir our imagination by the spectre of fabulous and frightening creatures. Above all, it raises fundamental ethical questions. A...
Our thematics
Presentation of the EIB
Due to increasing social issues arising from technological advancement, each year we are faced with new ethical questions.
In response, the European Institute of Bioethics has decided to provide well documented information in order to raise awareness in these ethical areas.
The following are some of our current challenges, our means of action and what we need in order to succeed.