An article examined the regulation of abortion and IVF treatment services. The regulatory burden borne by IVF services was greater than in the case of abortion: but none of the explanatory theses could provide a justification of this phenomenon. The authors offered an alternative explanation based on factors including regulatory 'overspill'.
Source: Sebastian Sethe and Alison Murdoch, 'Comparing the burden: what can we learn by comparing regulatory frameworks in abortion and fertility services?', Health Care Analysis, Volume 21 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on clinical trials.
Source: Government Response to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Inquiry into Clinical Trials, Cm 8743, Department of Health, TSO
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined the views of health services staff, practitioners, researchers, and patients on a potential register of volunteers interested in research participation. The research noted implications for the design of research registers.
Source: Aileen Grant, Jenny Ure, Donald Nicolson, Janet Hanley, Aziz Sheikh, Brian McKinstry, and Frank Sullivan, 'Acceptability and perceived barriers and facilitators to creating a national research register to enable 'direct to patient' enrolment into research: the Scottish Health Research Register (SHARE)', BMC Health Services Research, Volume 13
Date: 2013-Oct
An article said that moves to introduce greater competition in the National Health Service in England sharpened the need for attention to be paid to the ethical operation of healthcare organizations. The use of commercial companies could create new relationships and ethical tensions. It suggested the development of organizational ethics programmes.
Source: Lucy Frith, 'The NHS and market forces in healthcare: the need for organisational ethics', Journal of Medical Ethics, Volume 39 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
The Welsh Assembly approved the Human Transplantation (Wales) Bill. The Bill introduced a 'soft' opt-out system of organ donation, under which consent to donation would be deemed to have been given unless a person stated a wish not to be a donor (opted out) – making Wales the first country in the United Kingdom where this system applied.
Source: Human Transplantation (Wales) Bill, Welsh Government, TSO
Links: Bill | Welsh Government press release | BHA press release | Nuffield CB press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Jul
A new book examined the links between health and human rights. It considered whether bioethics was pushing human rights aside; whether conflict between risk and rights was inevitable in infectious disease control; and whether reproductive choice was a bad argument in the context of reproductive technologies.
Source: Therese Murphy, Health and Human Rights, Hart Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jun
An article examined how acceptance of euthanasia among the general public had changed between 1981 and 2008 in European countries. Euthanasia acceptance had increased each decade up until 2008 in 11 of 13 western European countries; but in 8 out of 10 eastern and central European countries it had decreased or remained stable between 1999 and 2008.
Source: Joachim Cohen, Paul Van Landeghem, Nico Carpentier, and Luc Deliens, 'Different trends in euthanasia acceptance across Europe: a study of 13 western and 10 central and eastern European countries, 1981-2008', European Journal of Public Health, Volume 23 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
A study provided a preliminary overview of the wide range of policy concerns relating to surrogacy in Europe. It examined national and Europe-wide legal approaches to surrogacy. It said that it was impossible to indicate a particular legal trend across the European Union, but that all member states appeared to agree on the need for a child to have clearly defined legal parents and civil status.
Source: Laurence Brunet, Derek King, Julie McCandless, Janeen Carruthers, Konstantina Davaki, and Claire Marzo, A Comparative Study on the Regime of Surrogacy in EU Member States, European Parliament
Links: Report
Date: 2013-May
An article examined the legitimacy of the restrictions on assisted suicide in England. It said that guidelines prohibiting organizations that assisted suicides left some people without the help that they needed. Although legislative decriminalization of assisted suicide and the establishment of state-sponsored suicide centres would represent the most permissive regime, this would be a 'step too far'. Decriminalization should be combined with a robust regulatory regime.
Source: Christoph Rehmann-Sutter and Lynn Hagger, 'Organised assistance to suicide in England?', Health Care Analysis, Volume 21 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
The coalition government announced (following consultation) that it had decided not to proceed with proposals to transfer the functions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the Human Tissue Authority to the Care Quality Commission and the Health Research Authority. But it announced an independent review of the functions of the HFEA.
Source: Government Response to the Consultation on Proposals to Transfer Functions from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and the Human Tissue Authority, Department of Health
Links: Hansard | BFS press release
Date: 2013-Jan
