Axel Kahn
Axel Kahn | |
---|---|
President of Paris Descartes University | |
In office 2007–2011 | |
Preceded by | Jean-François Dhainaut |
Succeeded by | Frédéric Dardel |
Personal details | |
Born | Le Petit-Pressigny, Centre, France | 5 September 1944
Died | 6 July 2021 Paris, France | (aged 76)
Relatives | Jean-François Kahn Olivier Kahn |
Education | Lycée Buffon |
Alma mater | University of Paris |
Profession | Physician |
Axel Kahn (French pronunciation:
Kahn is known in France for his appearances in the media where he attempts to explain genetics and ethics to the public. As a civil servant, he was the head of the committee in charge of genetically modified crops for Europe.
Views on science
Kahn, the editor of French biomedical journal (Médecine/Sciences; 2005 Impact Factor: 0.541), said in 1999 that "80 to 90 percent of what is published [in scientific journals] is of little real interest" and most journals are consulted infrequently.[2]
Kahn has said that
In 2004, Kahn signed a petition and threatened to resign from his post as head of the Paris-based, publicly financed Cochin Institute, due to cuts in government spending on research.[4]
Views and positions on medical procedures
Gene therapies
Kahn was against germline gene therapies, saying that they have no therapeutical value, and he was working to outlaw them worldwide through the World Health Organization.[5]
Stem cells
He has said of stem cells as a therapy, "Science alone is not sufficient for making decisions on stem cells, but we cannot discuss the ethical issues without clarifying the scientific facts."[6]
Kahn has said that
Infertility treatments
In 1995, Kahn was a notable opponent of intracytoplasmic sperm injection, which he saw as an experimental treatment not to be used by those with infertility, which was not serious enough to justify the risks he perceived the procedure as having.[7]
Kahn has also spoken out against family members carrying children for other family members who are infertile. In speaking out against the case of a 62-year-old Frenchwoman who gave birth after being implanted in the
Cloning
Kahn has said: "But, from the ethical point of view, I'm totally opposed -for some reasons- to the legitimisation of the
He has also said that therapeutic cloning simply will not work.[3]
Political positions
Kahn has said that there can be no lasting state of Israel in its current location - "Demography, law and the uneasy conscience of the West preclude it."[9] He has called for the boycott of Israeli products.[10]
Books authored
- Transgenic Plants in Agriculture
- Copies conformes – Le clonage en question (1998)
- Et l'homme dans tout ça ? (And man in all of this?), by Axel Kahn (with Fabrice Papillon, 2000), pub. Nil, Paris, 2001
- Raisonnable et humain? (2004)
- Le Secret de la salamandre (with Fabrice Papillon, 2005)
- L'avenir n'est pas écrit ("Future is Not Yet Written")
- L'Homme, le Bien, le Mal. Une morale sans transcendance, by Axel Kahn and Christian Godin, Stock edition, Paris, 2008, ISBN 2-234-05975-5.
Awards and honors
- Lauréat of the Académie Nationale de Médecine
- Medal of Francophony of the Académie Française
- CNRS Silver Medal
- Université Catholique de Louvain, the University of Liège, the Université de Montréal, the Université Laval and the Université de Sherbrooke.
Death
Kahn died of
References
- ^ Cantié, Valérie (6 July 2021). "Axel Kahn, généticien et président de la Ligue contre le cancer, est mort". www.franceinter.fr.
- ^ Nature via mailing list, 1999 APR 29. Consulted on 11 August 2007.
- ^ a b c Carpe Diem Communication, PROFESSOR AXEL KAHN: " FUTURE IS NOT WRITTEN"… Archived 1 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Consulted on 11 August 2007.
- ^ Leading French Geneticist and Bioethicist Threatens to Resign if his Government Doesn't "take immediate and significant steps to boost French research". Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Consulted on 11 August 2007.
- ^ Nature, WHO's bioethics code likely to stir debate. Consulted on 11 August 2007.
- ^ European Commission, Stem Cells: Therapies for the Future?. Consulted on 11 August 2007.
- ^ British Medical Journal, France debates ethics of sperm injection techniques. Consulted on 11 August 2007.
- ^ Label France, Feature : Biotechnologies : do they endanger Mankind? Archived 11 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Consulted on 11 August 2007.
- ^ Le Monde, Getting on, getting by. Consulted on 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Article : 00:00 Mardi 30 novembre 1999 - Guysen International News". Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2007.
- ^ "Axel Kahn, médecin, généticien et essayiste, est mort". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 10 July 2021.