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Headlines
Prof. emeritus Dr. Bernard Spitz: “Abortion: between fundamental right and crime against humanity”.
Temps de lecture : 5 min.
Prof. emeritus Dr. Bernard Spitz is a physician and professor emeritus at the Catholic University of Louvain, where he taught obstetrics and medical ethics. Dr. Spitz is the (co-)author of “Quand vous perdez une grossesse...
Italy recognizes surrogacy as a “universal crime”: symbolic measure or first step towards a global ban?
Temps de lecture : 2 min.
On October 16, 2024, the Italian Senate voted to extend the criminalization of surrogate motherhood to include the “crime of surrogate motherhood committed abroad by an Italian citizen”. From now on, Italian nationals who use a...
Access to origins: Belgian law deems gamete donor anonymity unconstitutional
Temps de lecture : 2 min.
In a ruling handed down on September 26, 2024, Belgium's Constitutional Court ruled that legislative provisions which absolutely prevent a child born from a gamete donation from obtaining any information from the fertilization center...
World Palliative Care Day: “It's about reducing suffering, not ending life”
Temps de lecture : 1 min.
Entitled “Much more than care”, the campaign aims to show that palliative care is not a synonym of death, but rather with quality of life. Palliative care is designed to improve the quality of life of patients and their families, by...
Artificial reproduction: study reveals increased risk of congenital heart defects in children
Temps de lecture : 1 min.
The study was based on data from artificial procreation registries in four Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) between 1984 and 2015. It covered all live-born children, over 7.7 million in total. Of these, 171,735 were born...
“To be or not to be”: actors with Down's Syndrome give a performance of Hamlet that challenges prejudices
Temps de lecture : 2 min.
“A luminous show that goes beyond the turmoil of Hamlet to bring to the stage an irrepressible thirst for life”. This is how the commentators on Musiq3 (RTBF) describe a play that made a stopover in Belgium at the beginning of autumn,...
EIB NEWS : UN criticises Belgium for ‘high rate’ of abortions linked to prenatal Down’s Syndrome tests
Temps de lecture : 2 min.
In its latest report, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities notes with ‘concern’ that the ‘negative perception of persons with disabilities’ in Belgian society contributes to the ‘high level of...
Cryopreservation of embryos: Study highlights ethical issues involved in their preservation and inevitable destruction
Temps de lecture : 2 min.
According to a study published last June, the number of human embryos cryopreserved following artificial reproduction has reached a record level in the UK. Published in The New Bioethics, the study analysed data provided by the UK Human...
Australia: Study highlights impact of euthanasia on palliative care
Temps de lecture : 2 min.
A study published in the journal BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care in May 2024 looked at the impact of euthanasia on palliative care in Victoria, where the practice has been decriminalised in 2017. The study was conducted across three care...
Assisted reproduction: a study reveals a psychological impact on children born from gamete donation
Temps de lecture : 1 min.
A study published on 27 June 2024 in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology highlights the greater risk of children conceived using gamete donation developing mental health problems and encountering difficulties in constructing their...
Belgium under the UN’s microscope regarding the rights of people with disabilities: between inclusion and the extinction of Down's syndrome
Temps de lecture : 2 min.
In August and September, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) will examine the situation of people with disabilities and their rights in Belgium. Among the issues that could be raised are the implications...
Pre-conception screening: Is it necessary to know everything before conceiving a child ?
Temps de lecture : 2 min.
Carrier screening is a test carried out before conception for couples who are at risk of passing on a genetic disease to their offspring. Ghent University Hospital recently asked the government to reimburse the cost of these genetic tests for all...
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.