Assisted Suicide Fuels Debate in Germany

Jul 7th, 2008 • Posted in: News

In other medical and bioethics news, Nobel laureates call for change in intellectual property law for medical research, and British physician pioneers new embryo screening process

VARIOUS DATELINES
Stories at the intersection of medicine, biology, and ethics were featured in the world press last week. Among them:

• The German upper house passed a measure tightening restrictions on assisted suicide after a bizarre case in which a politician helped a healthy 79-year-old woman end her life. According to a report from the Agence France-Presse, Roger Kusch, a former senator who is now a right-to-die campaigner, showed Bettina Schart how to prepare a lethal drug cocktail. Schart was not suffering a life-threatening illness, reports the AFP, but had no family and did not want to spend the end of her life in a nursing home. Kusch, a lawyer, did not violate any laws and kept a camera running during the entire suicide to prove that he was not legally culpable. It is not illegal in Germany to advise someone on suicide as long as there is no physical assistance to the person committing suicide. The proposed law would make it a crime to offer advice on how to commit suicide, according to the AFP.
• Out-of-date intellectual property laws are no longer suited to modern science and can “impede innovation, lead to monopolization, and unduly restrict access to the benefits of knowledge,” according to professor Sir John Sulston and professor Joseph Stiglitz. The two Nobel laureates, writing in the Times of London, contend that intellectual property law in Britain and elsewhere increasingly is being manipulated to stanch competition and direct research toward profits rather than humanitarian goals. The call comes as the University of Manchester convenes a conference of scientists and bioethicists to draw up a manifesto for changes in intellectual property law, reports the Times.
• A London physician recently used a new genetic screening process to ensure that a baby was free of a gene that could lead to a rare hereditary cancer. According to ABC News, the process — an innovation in Britain — involves screening an embryo before implantation, with only embryos that pass the test actually being implanted. But ABC notes that some doctors worry that the process could someday be used to screen for traits like intelligence or attractiveness, and quotes University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Arthur Caplan as saying the procedure puts medicine on a moral slippery slope: “Where is this going to take us in the future? How far will we go in letting people decide their babies?” Caplan said.

Sources: AFP, July 5 — Times of London, July 5 — ABC News, June 30.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, June 23 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 24 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 10 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 28 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 17, 2007.

 Print This Story  Email This Story

User content does not reflect the views of the Institute for Global Ethics or its affiliates. IGE neither guarantees the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any user content, nor endorses any opinions expressed therein.

3 Responses »

1. Ethics Newsline® » News » Medical-Ethics Developments Prominent in Week’s News on November 3rd, 2008 at 4:13 pm:

   [...] more information, see: Related Newsline story, Sep. 22 — Related Newsline story, July 7 — Related Newsline story, June 23 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 5, 2007 [...]

2. Ethics Newsline® » News » Video Suicide Stirs Debate over Voyeuristic Nature of Internet on November 24th, 2008 at 8:26 pm:

   [...] more information, see: Related Newsline story, July 7 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 24 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 28 [...]

3. Ethics Newsline® » News » Tough Calls Dominate World-Press News about Medical Ethics on July 13th, 2009 at 6:51 pm:

   [...] more information, see: Related Newsline story, July 7 — Related Newsline story, Apr. 13 — Related Newsline story, Apr. 7 [...]

Support Provided By

• Support the Institute for Global Ethics

  

• Categories

  Select Category Book Review Commentary Education Activity Interview Job Posting Letters From Readers News NONE Notice Quote from the Ethics File Research Report Statline Trendlines Weekly Overview What They’re Saying Whatever Happened To

• Monthly Archives

  Select Month March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 February 2000 January 2000 2000 December 1999 November 1999 October 1999 September 1999 August 1999 July 1999 June 1999 May 1999 April 1999 March 1999 February 1999 January 1999 December 1998 November 1998 October 1998 September 1998 August 1998 July 1998 June 1998 May 1998 April 1998 March 1998 February 1998

• Calendar: Search archives by publication date.

  July 2008

  S	M	T	W	T	F	S
  « Jun				Aug »
  		1	2	3	4	5
  6	7	8	9	10	11	12
  13	14	15	16	17	18	19
  20	21	22	23	24	25	26
  27	28	29	30	31

• Rush Kidder’s New Book! Click book cover to order today.