Upcoming Science & Society seminar on June 25 with Jean-François Delfraissy

Reminder: The next seminar in the "Science & Society" cycle, entitled "Implications and challenges of the National Bioethics Consultation", will take place on June 25, 2019 at 5.30pm in the François Jacob auditorium. The speaker will be Professor Jean-François Delfraissy.

In preparation for the seven-yearly revision of the French Bioethics Law, the National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE) organized a public consultation from January to April 2018 with experts and members of civil society on major issues in the field of bioethics. This National Consultation, an exercise in health democracy that was open to everyone, was divided into four parts: a website (29,000 participants and 65,000 contributions); 154 meetings with associations, learned societies, think tanks and public and private institutions; 271 regional events attended by 21,000 people; and a 22-member citizens' committee, representative of the French population, which submitted three opinions.

Based on this work, the CCNE submitted a summary report in June 2018 that outlined all viewpoints in a neutral way, with no scientific or quantitative assessment of the opinions expressed. In September 2018, the CCNE delivered its "Opinion 129" on the revision of the Bioethics Law, a document that will serve as guidance for political decision-makers. The presentation will look at what can be learned from this consultation process, the first of its kind.

Jean-François Delfraissy is an immunologist specializing in HIV and emerging viruses. He previously served as Head of the Internal Medicine Department at Paris-Sud University Hospital and as a Professor at Paris-Sud University, and was Director of the ANRS and ITMO I3M. In 2014 he was appointed as Interministerial Coordinator for the response to the Ebola outbreak. Since January 2017, Jean-François Delfraissy has chaired the French National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE), and in 2018 he led the National Bioethics Consultation, which resulted in a summary report and an opinion designed to inform and guide the decision-makers responsible for revising the French Bioethics Law in 2019.

For logistical  reasons, please write to François Bontems (francois.bontems@pasteur.fr) to sign up.