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News Illness & Disability
Belgium under the UN’s microscope regarding the rights of people with disabilities: between inclusion and the extinction of Down's syndrome
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 of systematic screening for Down’s syndrome during pregnancy.
News Eugenics
Pre-conception screening: Is it necessary to know everything before conceiving a child ?
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...
News Gender & Sexuality
End of puberty blockers for minors: England reviews its treatment of gender dysphoria
On 12 March 2024, following a review of a public consultation and in the face of the many unknowns and concerns raised by an independent study, the British health service (NHS) officially announced that puberty blockers...
News Gender & Sexuality
Gender reassignment: more and more Belgian teenagers are being prescribed puberty blockers
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...
News Illness & Disability
Guy Dembour, a life devoted to revolutionizing the approach to disability
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 the Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc in Brussels for children and adolescents with Down's Syndrome, he never...
Paper Transhumanism
Animal-human Chimeras : State of Play and Bioethical Questions
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...
Paper Illness & Disability
Are people in a persistent vegetative state "Vegetables"?
Playing tennis in your headThe case which has clearly contributed the most to broadcasting the issue of people in a persistent vegetative state is the one of Terri Schiavo. In medical history, persistent vegetative...
In the spotlight
All the news
Bereavement leave in the event of euthanasia: will it be possible to change one’s mind?
Belgium – Proposed liberalisation of abortion laws: 12, 14 or 18 weeks – a scientific question or an ethical choice?
Belgium: care for people with disabilities under scrutiny from the UN
Alberta (Canada): a setback for the expansion of euthanasia?
Surrogacy: between freedom-restricting contracts and eugenic abortions
Euthanasia in cases of advanced dementia: a further extension of Belgian law?
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