The third session of the Bioethics Master Class was held in Paris on September 26-27, 2015. Two days of training and meetings on the theme of “Look, Listen, and Act!” were organised by VITA Youth.
First of all, Caroline Roux, Alliance VITA’s General Delegate and co-ordinator for its listening services , presented the main issues regarding motherhood, and the new challenges that youth may be faced with concerning Medically Assisted Procreation and Surrogacy. The question of life’s end was developed by Henri de Soos, Alliance VITA’s General Secretary and co-ordinator of the listening service SOS End of Life, giving young people the necessary tools to decrypt the current debate surrounding the bill on Life’s End.
Workshops were then organized by VITA Youth, especially emphasizing listening and accompaniment.
Doctor Xavier Mirabel, oncologist and medical expert, delivered his analysis on preventative medicine. He presented some remarkable potential therapies, but did not hide the weighty ethical questions involved in the new discoveries and techniques.
An evening of testimonies presented a variety of initiatives and commitments where young people could show support and solidarity to the weak and the most vulnerable.
Tugdual Derville, Alliance VITA’s General Delegate, spoke on the question of transhumanism, inviting the youth to reflect on how to face the new challenges in this anthropological argument.
Blanche Streb, Alliance VITA’s Research Director, concluded the session by addressing the question, “Technique and reproduction: just how far will artificial procreation go?”.
At the end of this course, the young people present were invited to take time to reflect on their own commitment and on their personal « bioethical » story, so as to make the connection between this two-day training course and the possibilities of committing themselves in their daily life.
The next Bioethical Master Classes will take place in Lyon this coming October 17th and 18th.
