Monica Belluci, the Italian actress who played Mary Magdalane in 'The Passion of the Christ', has told newspapers that she strongly supports a 'yes' vote in next month's referendum on Italy's tough fertility laws. The referendum, set for 12 and 13 June, was approved by Italy's Constitutional Court last year...
After weeks of competition and debate, the trustees of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), have announced that the city of San Francisco will house its headquarters. CIRM was created last November, after a ballot initiative in California - known as Proposition 71 - was passed, making the state the first...
The Australian federal government, which was planning to cut back on funding for IVF in its budget next month, has backed down. It was considering placing a cap on the number of Medicare-funded IVF treatments to a maximum of three for women over 42 and three per year for women...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is introducing new rules about who can donate sperm. Men that have had homosexual sex within the five years prior to them wanting to make an anonymous sperm donation will be prevented from doing so, as the FDA says that gay men are...
All colon cancer tumours should be screened for genetic mutations associated with an inherited form of the disease, say US researchers. The team, based at the Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center, say that colon tumours should be tested after surgery, to identify patients and relatives who might benefit from genetic...
US researchers have managed to grow human eggs in the laboratory, using cells scraped from the surface of ovaries. The team, based at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, say that the findings could lead to a new way of preserving female fertility, and also a potential new source of egg...
Legislation authorising research on human embryonic stem (ES) cells has been passed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, after being sent back for final approval following passage by the Senate by 34 votes to two last week. The House has now approved the bill by 119 votes to 38, meaning...
Scientists from the US have discovered an 'infertility molecule' that affects whether embryos implant in the womb. Working on mice, the scientists have found that females lacking the molecule, known as a lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptor, have difficulty conceiving. The mice produced eggs normally, and these fertilised in the normal...
A hospital in the UK is pioneering the use of stem cells to restore the eyesight of patients. Queen Victoria Hospital, in East Grinstead, West Sussex, says that it has helped more than 20 patients to see again over the past five years. Adult stem cells, taken either from the...
A British woman is expecting the country's first 'frozen egg' twins, it was revealed last week. The 36-year-old woman is said to be five months pregnant, following the use of fertility treatments that included the freezing of one of her eggs. Doctors at the West Midlands-based Midland Fertility Services...
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Comment
What the House of Lords Hashmi ruling really means
by Professor Sally Sheldon
The recent House of Lords decision in Quintavalle (on behalf of Comment on Reproductive Ethics) v HFEA [2005] represents what will hopefully be the last stage in a long legal battle for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and Raj and Shahana Hashmi. The Hashmis have a son of...