World Congress for Freedom of Scientific Research newsletter -17
If you have trouble reading this, please click http://old.radicalparty.org/pub/freedom17.html
World Congress for Freedom of Scientific Research the bulletin
|
Number 17, October 2010
- A moratorium on reproductive cloning to be discussed at the 17th session of UNESCO’s International Bioethics Committee. UNESCO’S IBC is holding its meeting at Headquarters in Paris. Three subjects are being debated: the principle of respect for human vulnerability; the ethical implications of traditional medicine; and human cloning and governance. According to the Report of the IBC Working Group on human cloning and international governance, “it appears appropriate to advance processes towards a more robust mechanism, such as a moratorium or a convention on prohibition on human reproductive cloning under international law. (…) Today, due to the sufficient consensus amongst governments of Member States against human reproductive cloning, it is plausible for the international community to move towards a convention prohibiting human reproductive cloning”. Read more.
- Abortion opponents undercut Council of Europe resolution on conscientious objection. Last October 7 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) undercut a resolution intended to regulate the use of conscientious objection by reproductive healthcare providers. The PACE resolution as originally proposed recommended that governments develop comprehensive regulations and guarantee the right to conscientious objection only to individuals, not to public health facilities. Read the full press release by the Center for Reproductive Rights.
- The 2010 Nobel Prize for Medicine recognizes scientific achievement beyond ideological preconceptions. “The 2010 Nobel Prize for Medicine has been awarded to Robert Edwards, thus recognizing his status as father of IVF and as one who enabled millions of pregnancies and births worldwide. Furthermore, this recognizes scientific achievement beyond ideological preconceptions, something that is forced upon the lives of those Italian citizens who require medical assistance in order to conceive: in Italy, law 40/2004 prohibits the use of all those options introduced by Edwards”. Read the full statement by Filomena Gallo, vice Secretary of Luca Coscioni Association for freedom of scientific research
- Assisted reproduction in Europe. “One of the things that ESHRE (European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology) is doing is to closely monitor reproductive tourism. (…) Patients mobility around Europe for medical problems has always been considered as a positive thing because it has been evaluated as a patient’s right to have access to high-level healthcare but referring to reproduction you are negatively impressed by the image of patients looking for something strange or trivial”. Read on line the full text by Luca Gianaroli, ESHRE Chairman elect, Italy (from the proceedings of the Second Meeting of the World Congress for Freedom of Scientific Research).
News in brief: