The position of the Catholic Church in Australia has been seriously weakened by the extraordinary remarks and interventions of the vice-chancellor of the Australian Catholic University, Professor Zlatko Skrbis, says Australian columnist Greg Sheridan. Sheridan was referring to a speech by Joe de Bruyn, who used three examples to reflect on how to live a Read more
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Paris on Sunday. They were opposing a bill allowing single women and lesbian couples under the age of 43 access to in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment. In France, IVF is currently restricted to heterosexual couples who are married or have cohabited at least two years. Besides broadening Read more
The rights of medical professionals’ conscientious objection to participating in medical procedures to which their beliefs are opposed are being clarified in the British Parliament. The Conscientious Objection (Medical Activities) Act 2017 would defend healthcare workers in England and Wales from partaking in the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, IVF or similar fertility treatments, or abortion Read more
IVFs sorry legacy is that many IVF “babies” may inherit their parents’ fertility problems. They are also more likely to suffer from obesity, diabetes and cancer. Although the difference between the health outcomes from IVF babies and others is small, research shows genes behave differently in IVF babies. IVF – or in vitro fertilisation – Read more
Pope Francis denounced the right to die movement on Saturday, saying that euthanasia is a sin against God and creation. The Latin American pontiff said it was a “false sense of compassion” to consider euthanasia as an act of dignity. He classified as equally false the belief that abortion helps women. Rather, the image of Read more
Eggs, sperm and embryo samples of almost 2000 people are set to be lawfully destroyed as a ten year storage time deadline approaches. In 2004, the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act was passed governing the practice of fertility treatment. In 2010 the legislation was amended allowing the retrospective 10-year storage period for eggs, sperm and Read more
Rachel and Stuart Maloney’s small townhouse at Pottsville on the northern NSW coast is a happy home. Wedding pictures hang on the walls and colourful toys are scattered through the living room where toddler Nate plays chasey with his dad. This joyful scene of family life has not come easy. In 2007, Stuart and Rachel Read more
The United Kingdom looks set to become the first country in the world to allow the creation of IVF babies using DNA from three people. The government said it would draft regulations to allow human embryos to be created in this way to avoid mitochondrial diseases. But the director of Human Genetics Alert, called the Read more
The Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology (Acart), has been seeking public opinion on its “Background Paper for stakeholder discussion on the Import and Export of Gametes and Embryos”. Submissions closed on 31 May. The committee is the first of a two stage approach to talking with stakeholders about the issues. In this first stage they have presented arguments about six Read more
Using frozen embryos gets better results for mother and baby in IVF treatments, a study concludes. The study showed that babies which grow from thawed embryos are less likely to be born preterm or underweight and have a lower risk of dying in the days after their birth. Thawed embryos also reduced the risk of bleeding Read more