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Trade in parts of the human body
Trade in parts of the human body
Author(s)
Hanke Bruins Slot
Publication Year
2019
Hanke Bruins Slot notices that hundreds of skulls have been bought from the United States for research purposes. She wonders whether the commercial aspects of this transaction are contrary to the prohibition to use the human body and parts of the human body for commercial purposes, as laid down in Art. 3 of the Charter. The Minister of Public Health, Welfare and Sports states that this article does not contain an absolute prohibition and that it is not addressed to citizens and companies, but to institutions of the European Union and Member States. In any case, informed consent and altruistic reasons on the part of the person who donates his or her body or part thereof, are predominant for the Minister.
Quote: "Vraag 5
In hoeverre is artikel 3 van het Handvest van de Grondrechten van de Europese Unie op de handel in lichaamsdelen zoals beschreven in het desbetreffende item van toepassing, waarin staat er een verbod is om het menselijk lichaam en bestanddelen daarvan als zodanig als bron van financieel voordeel aan te wenden? Als dit artikel niet van toepassing is, waarom dan niet?
Antwoord 5
Artikel 3 van het Handvest van de Grondrechten van de Europese Unie (hierna: Handvest) omvat het recht op lichamelijke en menselijke integriteit. Het tweede lid bepaalt dat in het kader van de geneeskunde en de biologie onder andere in acht moet worden genomen de vrije en geïnformeerde toestemming van de betrokkene en het verbod om het menselijk lichaam en bestanddelen daarvan als zodanig als bron van financieel voordeel aan te wenden. Het beginsel bevat geen absoluut verbod op commerciële handelingen met lichaamsmateriaal.
Artikel 3 richt zich, net zoals andere bepalingen van het Handvest, niet rechtstreeks tot burgers of bedrijven. De bepalingen van het Handvest zijn gericht tot de instellingen, organen en instanties van de Unie en tot de lidstaten. Anders dan internationale grondrechtenverdragen zoals met name het Europees Verdrag voor de Rechten van de Mens, bevat het Handvest een algemene beperking ten aanzien van de toepasselijkheid op het handelen van de lidstaten. Er moet namelijk sprake zijn van het uitvoeren van Europese regelgeving. In de hierboven beschreven situatie waarbij het gaat om het door burgers (in de Verenigde Staten) bij leven bestemmen van het lichaam voor (ontleding in het belang van) doelen als wetenschappelijk onderzoek, bevat het Unierecht echter geen regels. Om die reden is deze bepaling van het Handvest op de onderhavige casus strikt genomen niet van toepassing.
Wel onderschrijf ik het uitgangspunt van artikel 3 ten zeerste, namelijk dat lichaamsmateriaal afkomstig is uit vrijwillige en onbetaalde donaties. Het bieden van een vergoeding aan de donor voor de door hem in verband met de donatie gemaakte onkosten (zoals een reiskostenvergoeding) staat hieraan niet in de weg. Hier gaat immers geen financiële prikkel vanuit. Zoals ik heb aangegeven in mijn antwoord op vraag 3 staan voor mij de geïnformeerde toestemming en de altruïstische daad voorop. Dit omvat ook het geven van informatie over commerciële handelingen met lichaamsmateriaal en over eventuele daarmee gepaarde gaande winst."
Translated quote: "Question 5
To what extent does Article 3 of the Charter on the Fundamental Rights of the European Union on the trade in parts of the human body apply in this case, this Article stating that there is a prohibition to use the human body and parts thereof as a source of commercial gain? If this Article does not apply, why not?
Answer 5
Article 3 of the Charter on the Fundamental Rights of the European Union (hereinafter: the Charter) implies the right to physical and human integrity. The second paragraph states that, in the frameowerk of medicine and biology, the free and informed consent of the person involved should, amont other things, be taken into account, and the prohibiton to use the human body and parts thereof as such as a source of financial gain. The principle does not contain an absolute prohibition to use the material of the body.
Article 3 does not address citizens or companies directly, just as the other stipulations of the Charter. The stipulations of the Charter address institutions, organs and institutes of the European Union and Member States. Other than other international human rights treaties, such as in particular the European Convention on Human Rights, the Charter contains a general restriction as to the application to acts of Member States. This is proven by the fact that European legislation should be implemented. In the situation mentioned above, in which citizens (in the United States) designate, during their lives, their body (for the dissection in the interest of and) to aims such as scientific research, EU law, however, does not contain any rules. For this reason, the Charter does not apply in the narrow sense of the word."
https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/ah-tk-20182019-1367.html