Should embryonic stem cell research or cloning be allowed ? What are the issues regarding patient confidentiality and informed consent ? Should genetic diagnosis allow parents-to-be choose characteristic traits or the sex of their baby during IVF ? These are some of the issues that Prof. Martin Bobrow has to deal with, as a member of the Singapore Bioethics Advisory Committee’s (BAC) International Panel of Experts. Prof. Bobrow is the head of the Medical Genetics Department at the University of Cambridge, and was recently in Singapore, where he gave a public lecture on “Confidentiality in Medicine and Research” and a professional lecture on “Informed Consent”. Although Prof. Bobrow is actively involved in the area of bioethics, he readily admits not to have any formal training in ethics.
