1. Belgium Sets New Records for Euthanasia

Most countries aim to set new health records by alleviating certain diseases, curing cancers, or improving overall health among their citizens. In Belgium, however, they aim to set records to see how many of their fellow countrymen their medical institutions can kill off. And in 2015, a record number of over 2,000 Belgians were euthanized. As our friend Wesley Smith reminds those of us in the United States, “If we don’t want to go there tomorrow, we need to stop the assisted suicide movement in its tracks today.”

2. Physician Assisted Suicide to Be Debated in Alaska

Such a warning to stop physician assisted suicide in its tracks is apropos as yet another state—this week, Alaska—has introduced legislation to legalize the practice within the state. We’ll continue to monitor this, and sadly, add it to our growing list of states where such legislation is being pushed.

3. Indian Government Pushes for Surrogacy Restrictions

This week the Los Angeles Times profiled India’s efforts to reign in its massive surrogacy enterprise. Once a major market for international surrogacy, the government is looking to ban foreign couples from coming to the country to exploit their women. We support this initiative—and all efforts to stop surrogacy both abroad and here at home.

4. British Surrogate “Retiring”

A 49 year old British woman who has served as a surrogate mother for thirteen children has announced that she is “retiring.” Heeding the advice of doctors who have told her that her body should no longer have any children, she’s calling it quits. We say that her doctor should have warned her from ever embarking on allowing her body to be used to have children for other couples.

5. CBC in the News: Fighting Surrogacy at Home and Abroad

This week CBC President Jennifer Lahl is clocking over 15,000 air miles and speaking to a crowd of over one million people at a major event in Rome, Italy. She will spread our message that no one—gay, straight, single, or otherwise—has a right to use someone else’s body to have a child. Be sure to follow our website and social media for a text of the speech once it’s delivered!

This Week in Bioethics Archive

Image by cappellmeister via flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Author Profile

Christopher White, Ramsey Institute Project Director