GESTIÓN EN SALUD PÚBLICA: BioEdge: 3-parent babies: Singapore and Ukraine

domingo, 10 de junio de 2018

BioEdge: 3-parent babies: Singapore and Ukraine

BioEdge: 3-parent babies: Singapore and Ukraine

Bioedge

3-parent babies: Singapore and Ukraine

by Michael Cook | 9 Jun 2018 |

Singapore could become the second country after the United Kingdom to legalize three-parent babies, a technique for giving birth to children who would otherwise have a genetic disease. Technically known as mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), the procedure was legalised in 2016 in Britain after a long and intense debate in the media and Parliament.

Singapore is trying to foster cutting-edge biological science and follows developments elsewhere carefully. “Our position is to keep a close watch on what happens in the UK, to track the UK experience, and to learn from what they have done,” geneticist Oi Lian Kon told Science magazine. He is leading a review panel for the government’s Bioethics Advisory Committee.

According to Science, “No other countries have adopted laws specifically about MRT. Many have a blanket ban on changing the human germline that includes the technique. Thailand is the only country that does not explicitly prohibit altering the human genome, whereas Italy and Israel permit it under certain conditions.”

Meanwhile, a clinic in Ukraine is already performing the technique and marketing it internationally. One MRT baby has already been born after the mother was treated at The Nadiya (hope) Clinic in Kiev, three more are pregnant, and several others are undergoing treatment. The director, Valery Zukin, was not flustered when a journalist from National Public Radio (US) quizzed him about the ethical issues. "As a doctor I understand only one thing: We have parents who couldn't have children and now they have their own biological child. That's all," he told NPR.

However, MTR is currently illegal in the US – a wise move, according to Marcy Darnovsky, of the Center for Genetics and Society, in California. "What we're seeing is a fast slide down a very slippery slope toward designer babies," Darnovsky told NPR. "We could see parents feeling eager to give their children traits like greater strength, needs less sleep. Some people are saying that, 'Yes, there are genes for IQ and we could have smarter babies.' "

Sunday, June 10, 2018

The deaths this week of fashion designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain (see below) focused the media once again on explanations for America’s rising suicide rates. The short answer is: nobody knows. The more nuanced long answer is: nobody knows for sure. But something is driving it. Here are a few paragraphs from the New York Times which suggest that suicide is becoming culturally more acceptable:

The rise of suicide turns a dark mirror on modern American society: its racing, fractured culture; its flimsy mental health system; and the desperation of so many individual souls, hidden behind the waves of smiling social media photos and cute emoticons.

Some experts fear that suicide is simply becoming more acceptable. “It’s a hard idea to test, but it’s possible that a cultural script may be developing among some segments of our population,” said Julie Phillips, a sociologist at Rutgers.

Prohibitions are apparently loosening in some quarters, she said. Particularly among younger people, Dr. Phillips said, “We are seeing somewhat more tolerant attitudes toward suicide.”

In surveys, younger respondents are more likely than older ones “to believe we have the right to die under certain circumstances, like incurable disease, bankruptcy, or being tired of living,” she said.

If this is the case, why, O why, is there a movement for assisted suicide? Yes, it’s hard to prove, but it makes sense: if assisted suicide is a triumph of compassion and autonomy, how can unassisted suicide possibly be a tragedy?