European Institute of Bioethics

The European Institute of Bioethics (Institut Européen de Bioéthique, IEB) is an independent study centre in the field of biomedical ethics, founded in 2001 as a non-profit association and based in Brussels, Belgium. It describes itself as independent of any institutional structure and works in collaboration with academia and health professionals. Its stated purpose is to inform, train and raise awareness among citizens, health professionals and policymakers on bioethical issues, with an ethics grounded in the promotion of the human person and human dignity. The IEB's work is organised around three missions. First, it informs through analysis notes on current affairs, thematic dossiers and public interventions, aiming to provide reliable, rigorous and accessible information about political and scientific developments in bioethics. Second, it trains: each year it runs various types of bioethics training, either general or on specific themes, regularly addressing health professionals and also offering courses to the general public, including young people and students. Third, it raises awareness, using its expertise on many bioethical issues in Belgium, Europe and beyond to draw the attention of citizens, caregivers and public institutions to the hopes and promises, but also the risks, inherent in certain biomedical practices or decisions. The institute's thematic areas include beginning of life (fertility and pregnancy, medically assisted procreation, embryos, surrogacy, abortion), end of life (palliative care, euthanasia, organ donation), rights and freedoms (freedom of conscience, institutional freedom, access to origins), the human being (illness and disability, gender and sexuality, eugenics, transhumanism, artificial intelligence). Its public output frequently addresses topics such as the extension of euthanasia to mental disorders in Canada, genetic modification of human embryos, euthanasia legislation in France, bereavement leave in cases of euthanasia, and abortion liberalisation in Belgium. The IEB is funded entirely by private donors; it states that any donation of €40 or more is tax-deductible in Belgium at 30%. Its team is led by Director Léopold Vanbellingen, a doctor of law. The institute is headquartered at Rue de la Pépinière 1 bte 2, 1000 Brussels, and maintains a French-language website at ieb-eib.org.

The European Institute of Bioethics (Institut Européen de Bioéthique, IEB) was founded in 2001 as a non-profit association (association sans but lucratif) and is based in Brussels, Belgium. From its creation it has operated as an independent study centre in the field of biomedical ethics, working in collaboration with the academic world and health professionals and describing itself as independent of any institutional structure. Its mission has been articulated around three activities: informing, training and raising awareness. Through analysis notes on current affairs, thematic dossiers and public interventions, the IEB seeks to provide reliable, rigorous and accessible information about political and scientific developments in bioethics. Each year it deploys different types of bioethics training, either general or on a specific theme, regularly intervening with health professionals and also offering training to the general public, including young people and students. Drawing on expertise developed on numerous bioethical issues in Belgium, Europe and beyond, its team seeks to draw the attention of citizens, caregivers and public institutions to the hopes and promises, but also the risks, inherent in certain biomedical practices or decisions. The institute frames its work within an ethics based on the promotion of the human person and human dignity, which it presents as urgent in a societal context where, in its view, a utilitarian culture tends to mask human interdependence and the vital need for relationship with others. Its thematic coverage spans beginning-of-life questions (fertility and pregnancy, medically assisted procreation, embryos, surrogacy, abortion), end-of-life questions (palliative care, euthanasia, organ donation), rights and freedoms (freedom of conscience, institutional freedom, access to origins), and questions concerning the human being (illness and disability, gender and sexuality, eugenics, transhumanism, artificial intelligence). Publicly, the IEB comments on developments in Belgium, Europe and beyond, with recent highlighted topics including the possible extension of euthanasia to mental disorders in Canada, genetic modification of human embryos, euthanasia legislation in France, bereavement leave in cases of euthanasia, and the liberalisation of abortion in Belgium. The institute is funded entirely by private donors and states that any donation of €40 or more is tax-deductible in Belgium at 30%. Its team is led by Director Léopold Vanbellingen, a doctor of law, and is based at Rue de la Pépinière 1 bte 2, 1000 Brussels.

• 2001

  Founded as a non-profit association in Brussels.

An independent, non-profit bioethics study centre promoting an ethics based on the human person and human dignity, funded by private donors.

• Analysis notes on bioethics current affairs

  Notes analysing political and scientific developments in bioethics.

• Thematic dossiers

  Dossiers on themes such as beginning of life, end of life, rights and freedoms, and the human being.

• Bioethics training

  General or thematic training for health professionals and the general public, including young people and students.

1. 1Accueil | Institut Européen de Bioéthiqueieb-eib.org
2. 2À propos | Institut Européen de Bioéthiqueieb-eib.org
3. 3Donner | Institut Européen de Bioéthiqueieb-eib.org
4. 4Contact | Institut Européen de Bioéthiqueieb-eib.org
5. 5European Institute of Bioethicswikidata.org