Scottish Council on Human Bioethics
15 Morningside Road, Edinburgh EH10 4DP, Tel: 0131 447 6394 or 0774 298 4459
Conference Report
8th Conference of National Ethics Committees (COMETH)
"Meeting the challenges of changing societies"
25-26 April 2005
Organisers: Council of Europe, Bioethics Division
Venue: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Participants: Around 100 persons were present
SCHB participant: Dr. Calum MacKellar
- Personalities present:
- Minister of Health and Social Welfare of the Republic of Croatia
Assistant Minister for Multilateral Affairs and International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Croatia
Prefect of Dubrovnik and Neretva County
Mayor of Dubrovnik
Director of Legal Co-operation, Council of Europe
Programme
Monday 25 April 2005
- Opening Session
- Mr Neven Ljubicic, Minister of Health and Social Welfare of the Republic of Croatia
- Mr Ivan Šprlje, Prefect of Dubrovnik and Neretva County
- Ms Dubravka Šuica, Mayor of Dubrovnik
- Professor Niko Zurak, Chair of the National Bioethics Committee for Medicine, Republic of Croatia
- Professor Bozidar Vrhovac, Chair of COMETH Bureau
- Mr Carlos de Sola, Head of Bioethics Department, Council of Europe
Science Day Programme
Session: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine
chaired by Professor Daniel Tarschys (Sweden)
- The Convention: role and perspectives
- Dr. Dubravka Šimonovic, Croatia Chair of CDBI
- National perspectives on the Convention
- Professor Olivier Guillod, Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Professor Dragoslav Marinkovic, Serbia- Montenegro
- Implementing the Convention–practical experience
- Mrs Paula Martinho da Silva, Portugal
Session: chaired by Professor Göran Hermeren (European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies)
- Preimplantation genetic diagnosis for HLA compatibility
- Professor Sadek Beloucif, France
MMag. Dr. Robert Gmeiner, Austria
Session: Ethical implications of an ageing society, chaired by Professor Holger Baumgartner (Austria)
- Overview of the issues
- Professor Peter Mihalyi, Hungary
Professor Povl Riis, Denmark
- Age discrimination in the field of biomedicine
- Mr Richard Baker, Chair of the European Older People’s Platform Working Group on Age Discrimination
Session: chaired by Professor Jozef Glasa (Slovak Republic)
- Ageing and mental health – ethical issues
- Dr. Nicoleta Tataru, Romania
- The benefits of advance directives for people with dementia
- Mr Jean Georges, Alzheimer Europe
Tuesday 26 April 2005
National Ethics Committee Programme
Session: chaired by Mrs Rena Petridou (Cyprus)
- The functioning of national ethics committees today
- Mr Carlos de Sola, Council of Europe
- Recent national ethics committee opinions
- Opinion on surrogacy:
- Mr Freddy Mortier, Advisory Committee on Bioethics, Belgium
- Opinion on prenatal screening for cystic fibrosis:
- Professor Didier Sicard, National Advisory Committee on Life and Health Sciences, France
- Informed consent in genetic research - conclusions from an Icelandic survey:
- Ms Ólöf Ýrr Atladóttir, National Bioethics Committee, Iceland
- Opinion on Assisted Reproduction:
- Mrs Paula Martinho da Silva, National Council for Ethics in the Life Sciences, Portugal
Session: chaired by Professor Bozidar Vrhovac (Croatia)
- Recent national ethics committee opinions (continued)
- Opinion on disputed memories:
- Professor André Knottnerus, Health Council, The Netherlands
- Elections of new Chair of COMETH and COMETH Bureau members
- Intergovernmental activities in bioethics worldwide
- Mr Bart Wijnberg, The Netherlands
- Report on the 2004 Global Summit of National Ethics Committees
- Professor Alex Capron, World Health Organisation
- Closing of the conference
- Mr. Tomislav Vidoševic, Assistant Minister for Multilateral Affairs and International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Croatia
Mr Roberto Lamponi, Director of Legal Co-operation, Council of Europe, Chair of COMETH Bureau
SCHB Report:
Approximately 100 participants from 42 countries took part in the 8th European Conference of National Ethics Committees (COMETH) held in Dubrovnik, Croatia on 25 and 26 April 2005. The Chairs of numerous national ethics committees, as well as the Chair of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies, participated in the conference.
Mr. Neven Ljubičič, Minister of Health and Social Welfare of the Republic of Croatia, greeted the participants and opened the proceedings.
The main themes of the conference were the ethical implications of an ageing society and the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine.
Opinions of national ethics committees on preimplantation genetic diagnosis for HLA compatibility, surrogacy, prenatal screening for cystic fibrosis, assisted reproduction, and disputed memories were also presented and discussed, as well as a survey on informed consent in genetic research.
In this respect, the following points were made during the Conference:
The Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine
- The Convention is a "cornerstone" of a developing « European biomedical law ».
- National ethics committees may play an important role in realising the principles of the Convention and its Protocols, especially in stimulating public debate. This role is complementary to that played by the governments, legislative bodies and other institutions.
- An important aspect of this development is rooted in cooperation with the instances of the European Union and, in this context, it is satisfying to note that the Convention is acknowledged as an inspiration for the European Charter on Fundamental Rights.
National ethics committee opinions
- In the case of PGD, the Conference, benefiting from discussions at the national level and the opinions of a number of national ethics committees, contributed to this debate in a Pan European context.
Ethical implications of an ageing society
- The increase in the lifespan of European populations is a positive development however, it is also a development that brings with it many ethical challenges in particular in regard to biology and medicine. This requires a societal debate that could be animated by national ethics committees.
- Research on therapies or medical products that are to be used by older persons should be encouraged, while including them in appropriate research on such therapies or medical products.
- A number of countries in Europe are exploring or applying appropriate ways for taking into account previously expressed wishes in regard to medical treatment.
Functioning of National Ethics Committees today
- Bilateral cooperation between national ethics committees enables them to enrich their activities and develops the impact of their reflection at international level.