The Irish Council for Bioethics was established in 2002 as an independent, autonomous body to consider the ethical issues raised by developments in science and medicine.
The setting up of the National Bioethics Committee followed resolution no. 6-00038 approved on 5 July 1988 in which the Chamber of Deputies, among other things, committed the Government to promoting an international level comparison on the state of the art of biomedical research and genetic engineering which might serve as a valid point of reference for future choices in which the progress of science can be reconciled with the respect for human freedom and dignity
La Commission Consultative Nationale d'Ethique pour les sciences de la Vie et de la Santé (C.N.E.) fut mise en place par le gouvernement à la date du 9 septembre 1988. Elle ne put faire débuter toutefois ses travaux qu'en 1989. C'est en s'orientant sur cette date que la Commission a commémoré son quinzième anniversaire en novembre 2004. La Commission Nationale d'Ethique se compose de 15 membres, dont un président et un vice-président. Selon ses statuts, les membres sont nommées par le Gouvernement pour des mandats renouvelables de cinq ans. La mission de la Commission Nationale d'Ethique consiste notamment à étudier, soit de sa propre initiative, soit à la demande du Gouvernement, les aspects éthiques tant des problèmes divers, soulevés dans le domaine des sciences de la vie et de la santé que des solutions et des moyens à mettre en oeuvre.
BAUDOUIN, Jean-Louis, Patrick A. Molinari, in cooperation with Michèle Rivet, Burleigh Trevor-Deutsch, Derek J. Jones and Jean-François Brault, Toward a Canadian Advisory Council on Biomedical Ethics: A Study Paper prepared for the Law Reform Commission of Canada, Ottawa: Law Reform Commission of Canada, 1990, viii, 57 p. (series; Protection of Life Series; Study Papers), ISBN: 0662578309
Subsequent to an intensive three-year period of reflection, the CMQ is revealing its perspective and conclusions today regarding end-of-life care and euthanasia. The CMQ embraces the point of view of the patient who is confronting imminent and inevitable death. In such a situation, the patient looks to their physician and generally requests that they be able to die without undue suffering and with dignity. Neither surveys, nor attorneys, nor politicians can properly advise the physician and the patient facing this situation. In the majority of cases, the patient and their doctor find the appropriate analgesia that respects the ethical obligation of physicians not to preserve life at any cost, but rather, when the death of a patient appears to be inevitable, to act so that it occurs with dignity and to ensure that the patient obtains the appropriate support and relief.
Cash incentives and the payment of funeral expenses are two ideas being put forward to encourage people to donate human organs and tissue. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is asking the public if it is ethical to use financial incentives to increase donations of organs, eggs and sperm. Paying for most types of organs and tissue is illegal in the UK. The public consultation will last 12 weeks and the council's findings will be published in autumn 2011.
We provide our bodies or parts of our bodies for medical research or for the treatment of others in a number of ways and for a variety of reasons. However, there is a shortage of bodily material for many of these purposes in the UK. What should be done about it? The Council has set up a Working Party, chaired by Professor Dame Marilyn Strathern, to explore the ethical issues raised by the provision of bodily material for medical treatment and research. Questions to be considered include: * what motivates people to provide bodily material and what inducements or incentives are appropriate? * what constitutes valid consent? * what future ownership or control people should have over donated materials? * are there ethical limits on how we try to meet demand?
The GMC has responded to the consultation documents from the Directors of Public Prosecution for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland, explaining why the GMC does not take a position on assisted suicide.
Anti-abortion campaigners are pressing ahead with a controversial amendment to the Government’s new health bill designed to cut the number of pregnancies which are terminated each year in the UK. The Conservative MP Nadine Dorries, who is proposing the amendment, said yesterday she would not be “bought off” by the promise of a Government consultation on whether or not to offer independent counselling to all women considering an abortion. Instead she said she wanted to change the law to strip abortion charities and doctors of their exclusive responsibility for counselling women seeking to terminate a pregnancy, and hand it to specially trained professionals.
[...] the Panel was persuaded that the law in Canada [...] should be changed to allow some form of assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia. Putting the philosophical analysis together with the lessons learned from [a] review of the paths taken in other jurisdictions that have moved to more permissive regimes, the Panel considered the options for the design of a permissive regime and suggests the following legal mechanisms for achieving the reform and the core elements of the proposed reform.
“The current legal status of assisted dying is inadequate and incoherent...” The Commission on Assisted Dying was set up in September 2010 to consider whether the current legal and policy approach to assisted dying in England and Wales is fit for purpose. In addition to evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the legal status quo, the Commission also set out to explore the question of what a framework for assisted dying might look like, if such a system were to be implemented in the UK, and what approach to assisted dying might be most acceptable to health and social care professionals and to the general public.
The treatment of inherited mitochondrial abnormalities in human embryos using donor mitochondria is an advancing area of research. The techniques involved could have profound implications for future generations. This project will explore the ethical issues relevant to affected families, potential donors, researchers, medical professionals and others trying to understand and respond to the therapeutic possibility of mitochondrial transfer.
The present paper constitutes the input of Alzheimer Europe and its member organisations to the ongoing discussions within Europe about advance directives (in the context of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia). It is the result of discussions carried out in a multidisciplinary group, comprising experts in the field of psychiatry, neurology, pharmacology, psychology, law and ethics, in collaboration with the Board of Alzheimer Europe and its member associations. Please see Annex 1 for the list of participants of the working group. Alzheimer Europe’s position on advance directives was guided by several general principles and was influenced by principles contained in pre-existing European or international documents. Please refer to section D for details. On the basis of these principles and of a review of current literature concerning issues linked to the use of advance directives, Alzheimer Europe has developed the following position with regard to advance directives.
Un débat interne à l’ensemble de l’Institution ordinale a été conduit avant cette expression publique. Il en résulte que la fin de la vie d’une personne dans ces situations implique profondément le corps médical selon les principes éthiques de bienfaisance et d’humanité. L’Ordre national des médecins propose donc de promouvoir une meilleure connaissance de la loi Leonetti et d’envisager des améliorations susceptibles de répondre à des situations exceptionnelles. L’Ordre national des médecins apportera sa contribution au débat sociétal quant à l’euthanasie délibérée et au suicide assisté.
The Emerging Science and Bioethics Advisory Committee (ESBAC) was the main UK advisory body on emerging healthcare scientific developments and their ethical, legal, social and economic implications. It was sponsored by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for the Department of Health (DH), England. Its membership included representation from all UK Health Departments for whom ESBAC also provided advice. ESBAC also provided a forum to consider and develop coordinated advice across the wider science, health and academic communities to help set priorities in response to new developments.