Friday, 24 October 2014

Students and citizens debate on the beginning and the end of life

The National Bioethics Committee meets in Trento

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The National Bioethics Committee held an open debate at the University of Trento, on 23 October, at the Faculty of Law, involving experts in medicine and research on the beginning and the end of life.
Students interrogated the Committee’s members on the current meaning of “as nature intended”; the impact of the economic crisis on the right to health; the relationships between law and the science of life; the potential contribution of Cognitive sciences to communicate with people in vegetative state. Further, they also required explanations on the medically assisted procreation and embryos exchange; the ethical problems posed by psychiatry and mental health, and the phenomenon of the “Wrongful life”, i.e. the legal actions connected with undesired pregnancies.

Giuseppe Nesi, the Dean of the Faculty of Law and Paolo Collini, the pro-rector of the University of Trento. The debated was moderated by Laura Palazzani, Vice President of the National Bioethics Committee and Carlo Casonato, professor at the University of Trento, scientific coordinator of the BioLaw project and member of the Committee. Salvatore Amato, Luisella Battaglia, Stefano Canestrari, Cinzia Caporale, Bruno Dallapiccola, Antonio Da Re, Carlo Flamigni, Paola Frati, Silvio Garattini, Marianna Gensabella, Assunta Morresi, Demetrio Neri, Andrea Nicolussi, Monica Toraldo Di Francia, Giancarlo Umani Ronchi, Grazia Zuffa, Carla Bernasconi, and Rosaria Conte also intervened in the debate.

At the end of the meeting the 2014 Award - now at its fifth edition - was awarded by the Ethic Committee for Experimentations on humans for the drafting of a dissertation on topics regarding bioethics and bio-law, to raise the awareness of students on bioethics issues.

The winner was Giulia Cavaliere, who graduated at the Department of Humanities, in the degree course Philosophy and languages of modern times, who drafted a thesis on“Eugenetics: from the ideological ‘curse’ to an ethic evaluation”. The call was dedicated to the memory of Professor Ferdinando Rossi who had been a member of the Committee for a short period, before trespassing in January.

The second prize was awarded to Giulia Tomasoni, who graduated at the Faculty of Law. Her dissertation was “Informed consent in paediatrics”.

The National Bioethics Committee also spoke with the public, discussing the topic “Clinical research and treatment today”. This third part of the meeting was opened by Carlo Casonato, the Rector Daria de Pretis and the local councillor for health and solidarity, Donata Borgonovo Re.

Laura Palazzani introduced the speech “Medicaments: myth and reality”, by Silvio Garattini, Director of the Mario Negri Institute, member of the NBC, who will present a short film.

The works were concluded after the roundtable on “Clinical research and treatment today: ethics, rights, responsibility”, moderated by Cinzia Caporale and Carlo Flamigni, with the participation of Bruno Dallapiccola, Demetrio Neri, Stefano Canestrari, and Assunta Morresi. The event offered the opportunity to debate on the bioethics problems in the field of the sciences of life, on what research means today and on the characteristics of the contemporary medicine. Laura Palazzani was in charge of drawing and presenting the conclusions of the event.