by NexDev | February 1, 2019 | News
The European Institute of Bioethics has evaluated the new medical code regarding Euthanasia, recently published by the regional euthanasia commissions in the Netherlands.
This text explains how legal criteria relating to euthanasia must be interpreted, and reveals the ambiguities and contradictions of how this practice continues to drift off-course.
According to the latest report, in 2017 a total of 6,585 acts of euthanasia were carried out. This represents 4.4% of the total number of deaths and an increase of 8% compared to 2016. Following palliative sedation, a total of 32,000 people also died in the Netherlands in 2017. Psychiatrists had launched a petition to warn about the euthanasia practiced on people with psychiatric disorders.
To read the report:
Further information: File on Euthanasia in the Netherlands
by NexDev | January 16, 2019 | Bioethics
On January 14, Alliance Vita kicked off its 2019 bioethics conference. As in the previous years, the conference will be held on four successive Monday evenings. The theme for the first evening was “What is the Value of Human Life?”
In 152 cities throughout France and abroad, 8000 individuals took part simultaneously in this bioethics video-conference. This year, registrations have reached a peak for this innovative event in France.
Alliance VITA’s President, François-Xavier Pérès set the tone at the opening evening by declaring: “Alliance VITA’s objective is not to grieve over the situation, and say ‘NO’ to all changes, but rather to say ‘YES’ to the extraordinary value of life, and create awareness by warning, supporting and comforting.”
Adeline le Gouvello, lawyer and member of “Jurists for Children” and of the Institute for the Family and the Nation reiterated one of the fundamental principles of French law: the human body cannot be sold. She emphasizes that this principle is currently threatened: “Allowing human bodies to be marketed: allowing the vulnerable to be made available for the strong, allowing the poor to be made available for the rich”.
Alliance VITA’s Director of Training, Blanche Streb, suggested that we consider how assisted reproductive techniques (ART) are becoming more and more artificial, with the temptation to manufacture human lives regardless of the cost. She emphasized that human life does not have a price tag, due to its innate dignity, and that a person’s dignity includes the aspects of conception and pregnancy. Author of “Dystopia: the World of Designer Babies”, Blanche Streb concluded with this powerful invitation “More than offering life to a child, we offer him HIS own life, which demands our courageous involvement, not as “owners ” of life, but as people serving “life”.
Our moderator, Priscille de Lassus then interviewed guest speakers Bertrand and Gaëlle Lionel-Marie, (National Bioethics Officers for the French Catholic Family Association), who have been married for 23 years and who cope with the issue of infertility.
Then the Bioethics Decoder, focused on « The human price of surrogacy », with Caroline Roux. She described the consequences of this practice, which has made headlines in these past few years. Poor women in Asia, Eastern Europe but also in the USA are being exploited by commercial agencies that have a booming business. She explained that even if a woman offers to become a surrogate “gratuitously”, such as for a loved one, a sister, a friend, a mother…it is still a source of emotional pressure and confused parental relationships.
Valérie Boulanger, in charge of our information and listening service SOS Bébé, initiated the first session of « humanitarian VITA ». She shared her experience with those who have to cope with infertility, and underlined the importance of actively listening to individuals facing these intimate and painful issues, to help them avoid being misled, to provide support and give them courage to face disapproval.
Finally, Tugdual Derville, VITA’s General Delegate, spoke about “Consenting to Limits” for the section on “The price of brotherhood”. He asked each participant to imagine his own funeral and to choose 3 words that he would like to be remembered by, and to adopt these words as “guidelines for the rest of his earthly life”.
This enriching evening was concluded by a round table discussion whereby the speakers responded to the participants’ questions.
The theme for the second evening for the Bioethics Conference scheduled on January 21 is “Life, subject to conditions?”
![[Press Release] Parliament’s Report on Bioethics: Tumultuous Propositions which Undermine Human Rights](https://www.alliancevita.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/bioethique-2.jpg)
by NexDev | January 15, 2019 | Bioethics, Press Releases
Adding to the current yellow vest protest in France, the report of the parliamentary fact-finding mission on the revision of the bioethics laws, contains provocative and tumultuous propositions, which ruin the safeguarding principles of French bioethics. Diametrically opposed to medicine and solidarity, they include: allowing transgenic embryos and post-mortem IVF, encouraging eugenics by widespread screening for disabilities prior to conception, in addition to prenatal and preimplantation diagnosis and sorting of embryos, as well as putting pressure on individuals at the end-of-life to obtain organ donations (refer to proposition 40).
The rapporteur, Jean-Louis Touraine has made a complete policy shift towards the right to a child to the disadvantage of the right of children to know their biological father, thus ignoring the complimentary gender roles of male and female for procreation. His proposal to officially recognize the intended parents in France, for children born abroad by surrogacy totally disregards the mother who gave birth, constituting a severe threat for the respect of women’s rights and dignity.
Tugdual Derville, Alliance VITA’s General Delegate speaks out:
«The disparity between the vigilant approach of the committee’s director and the rapporteur’s recommendations demonstrates the ludicrous exaggerations of these conclusions. Except for human-animal hybrids or chimeras, Jean-Louis Touraine has pulled out all the stops. This is a great loss for human dignity. Generally speaking, this new but superfluous report, at least demonstrates the outrageous and exaggerated ideas that some individuals purport for deregulating bioethical positions. Alliance VITA is more committed than ever to remain involved in this participative process on these vital topics which preoccupy French citizens. The voices of the most vulnerable deserve to be heard, even though VITA is aware that those who monopolize the discussion are everything but willing to listen. Only by demonstrating a steady and vigilant involvement can we hope to dissuade the French President from acting on the recommendations in this report. It’s up to us to vigorously protest against the obscene spending of public funds and energy for such infringements on Human Rights.”
by NexDev | January 11, 2019 | News
On December 24 and 27, 2018 two decrees were passed in France which became effective on January 1, 2019 to “improve daily life for disabled individuals and their loved ones” by a “firm policy to simplify the paperwork”.
Thus since January 1, 2019 any adults who have been officially recognized as being disabled may retain this qualification and forthcoming eligibility for subsidies throughout life thanks to these simplified procedures: including priority in queues, parking, and transport. For disabled children the subsidies for education may now be granted until the individual reaches age 20.
On October 25, 2018, the Interministerial Committee for the Disabled agreed that disabled persons whose condition will not improve would receive life-long benefits, as well as for children up to age 20. Sophie Cluzel, the National Secretary for the Disabled lamented: “We have to stop asking French citizens to prove their disability 10 different times in life. This will significantly alter the process of continually providing proof (…) which previously resulted in mistrust.” This policy will also simplify the work for the 5000 professionals employed in the regional houses for disabled persons.
Prior to these 2 new decrees, the disabled person had to file a form to renew subsidies an average of 9 or 10 times throughout life; and for a child it had to be done every 12 to 18 months. Usually the first request was answered to after 1 to 20 years, depending on the multidisciplinary team’s opinion. Previously some proposals had been made to increase the time-frame for renewals, individuals still had to prove their disability on a regular basis. Out of the 4.5 million requests registered in regional offices in 2017 (an increase of 4.1% from 2016), half were renewals, with an average of a 4-month wait before receiving an answer.
Cyprien, Alliance VITA member who has been blind since he was born, speaks out:
“This is really good news which will simplify our life! Before I reached age 20, my parents had to fill out numerous administrative forms every 3 years, and also provide a medical certificate from the ophthalmologist to prove that I was still blind!”
by NexDev | January 6, 2019 | Prenatal diagnosis
Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) will heretofore be reimbursed (390 €) by the French National Health Care system, according to the decree published in the Official Journal on December 27.
Three decrees which specify the conditions for NIPT were published last December in the Official Journal. The first decree specifies the standard operating procedures for screening and prenatal diagnosis, now adding NIPT whenever first trimester screening results indicate a high risk of Down syndrome. The second decree provides additional information on NIPT to future parents whose child may be at risk for Down syndrome. The third decree specifies the reporting protocol to the Biomedical Agency for any pregnant woman diagnosed as being at risk.
Already on May 7, 2017 a decree was published in the Official Journal which added NIPT to the list of screening tests for Down syndrome during pregnancy. Since May 2017, the French National Health Authority has been recommending NIPT. During the first trimester a maternal blood test is performed to analyze the baby’s DNA present in the fetus’ cells which circulate in the mother’s bloodstream. If the results are not clearly decisive, a second screening test is also offered free of charge.
Women whose fetus has a risk between 1/1000 and 1/51 are offered a sonogram to measure nuchal translucency and a blood test for serial markers.
According to the National Health Authority, out of a total of 800,000 pregnancies annually, almost 58,000 women could be screened, thus detecting 15% more babies with Down syndrome, while decreasing amniocentesis for measuring fetal karyotype by 25%. However amniocentesis would not be completely replaced by NIPT since it would still be automatically recommended for any positive test result or for risks measuring 1/50. Previously amniocentesis was only proposed if the risk was 1/250.
Alliance VITA deplores the increasing pressure, year after year, for screening for Down syndrome. Will anyone be able to escape such determination to avoid the birth of babies with Down Syndrome when France has now become the world leader in eugenics?
