Kristof Van Assche associate research professor

Research Kristof Van Assche

Research team

Expertise

My research concerns an analyses of the legal issues that may be raised by potentially controversial interventions in the fields of health law and, to some extent, kinship. My research subjects include, but are not restricted to: abortion; euthanasia and medically assisted suicide; (living) organ donation and organ trafficking; prenatal testing, medically assisted procreation, surrogacy; biobanking; human subjects research; coercive measures. Apart from using a strictly legal approach, I als apply insights from ethics and philosophy of law.

Provision of a white paper on equitable access to innovative treatments and technologies in healthcare. 08/02/2024 - 31/12/2024

Abstract

Following the adoption of CM Recommendation CM/Rec(2023)1 to member states on Equitable access to medicinal products and medical equipment in a situation of shortage, and as a follow-up to the CDBIO discussion paper (doc CDBIO (2023)25) to assess outstanding ethical issues relevant to innovative treatments and technologies which are not already covered by the Recommendation, a white paper on equitable access to innovative treatments and technologies in healthcare will be drafted.

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  • Research Project

Happy@Home: Telemonitoring in the transmural care 01/12/2023 - 30/11/2025

Abstract

The aging population, the acute (care) staff shortage, the administrative burden and high healthcare costs emphasize the urgent need for a different organization of healthcare. By organizing remote care based on continuous telemonitoring instead of snapshots, one can work towards more affordable, holistic and patient-centered care in dialogue with patients and caregivers. Despite the potential of telemonitoring, the implementation of the existing variety of solutions is complex and relatively limited. Different barriers to the implementation exist, such as legislation, problems with reimbursement, nomenclature, pricing, as well as lack of knowledge and experience among healthcare providers. Therefore, we argue that there is a need for synergy and coordination between companies active in digital health technology and healthcare organizations. This TETRA project aims to support technology companies and healthcare organizations in the implementation of telemonitoring in transmural care. The target group of the project consists of developers of digital health technology (IoT integrators, application developers, data science consultants, etc.), healthcare institutions (including home care and hospitals) and network partners.

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  • Research Project

Improving Medical Decision-Making within a Super-Diverse Society: Challenges and Legal Opportunities 01/01/2023 - 31/12/2026

Abstract

European society is becoming increasingly diverse due to high levels of migration. Persons with a migration background, especially those from non-western countries, may experience significant challenges when they seek medical care. Some of the main issues arise in the context of medical decision-making, where cultural preferences for close family involvement may be difficult to reconcile with the western model of medicine, as enshrined in health law and medical deontology. This is the first comprehensive research project on medical decision-making in patients with a migration background undertaken in the European context. It brings together state-of-the-art expertise in health sciences, medical sociology, and health law, and applies a transversal research design and a tailored socio-legal research methodology. In this way, we will gain crucial insight into the relevant preferences of patients with a migration background and into strategies and tools that may be legally acceptable to improve medical decision-making in a diversity-responsive way. More specifically, the goals of the proposed research are threefold, each corresponding to a major research gap and therefore groundbreaking. The first research goal is to examine the preferences and challenges of patient populations with a migration background regarding medical decision-making, with particular attention to the role of family members in this process, and the variations that may exist between and within these groups. The second research goal is to investigate the practical strategies and tools that general practitioners have developed to address these preferences and challenges. The third research goal is to analyze how much room Belgian health law currently leaves for responding to these preferences and whether this legal framework should be reinterpreted or amended in the light of the "human right to culturally appropriate healthcare". The overarching aim is to improve diversity-responsive, patient-oriented care for the migrant population, by identifying those strategies and tools that may be legally acceptable to accommodate patient preferences and by incorporating them in policy and legal recommendations, as well as in an educational module for physicians and information materials for patients, families, and healthcare workers. The project uses a mixed-methods design, combining desk research and quantitative (factorial survey with hypothetical vignettes) and qualitative (focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and nominal group method) research methodologies. The research team will jointly review the results from the three perspectives, by using multiperspective qualitative methods. With its aim to examine and improve diversity-responsive, patient-oriented care for the migrant population, our research project aligns closely with the vision statement of the University of Antwerp on fostering diversity and equal opportunities, as well as with current national and international political and research priorities. Supporting an inclusive society by reducing inequalities and social exclusion is a priority action point for the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the UN, and the WHO. International policy instruments highlight that inequalities in access to healthcare are growing and particularly affect vulnerable groups, including patients with a migration background. Consequently, they call for measures to guarantee that every person effectively obtains a satisfactory degree of care. In contributing to this goal, our research project addresses central policy and research priorities. The project is therefore expected to result in major opportunities to obtain European and other international funding, and to form the basis for international research collaborations, taking into account similar challenges arising in other European countries. In this way, the project will also significantly increase the international visibility of the University of Antwerp.

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  • Research Project

Multiculturalism in Healthcare: Rights and Duties of Healthcare Providers and Patients When Manifesting Their Religious and Cultural Preferences in the Healthcare Setting. 01/11/2022 - 31/10/2024

Abstract

As a result of the increasing impact of multiculturalism in healthcare, challenges arise that threaten the patient-physician relationship. My proposed research will be the first to systematically analyse the rights and duties of healthcare providers and patients who want to manifest their religious or cultural preferences in the healthcare setting. The focus will be on the display or wearing of religious or cultural symbols and clothing by healthcare providers, and on religiously or culturally inspired patient requests to be treated by a healthcare provider of the same sex/gender, race/ethnicity or religion. The first goal is to examine, under the supranational legal framework and the legal frameworks of Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, how the display or wearing of religious or cultural symbols and clothing by healthcare providers in the healthcare setting is regulated. The second goal is to examine, under the supranational legal framework and the legal frameworks of the four countries under consideration, a possible patient right to sex/gender-, race/ethnicity-, or religion-concordant care, and possible legal remedies available to healthcare providers who might feel subject to discrimination. In integrating the findings of both goals, the research will also allow us to determine the boundaries of possible discrimination of healthcare providers in Western Europe operating in a multicultural healthcare setting.

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  • Research Project

The implications of neurotechnological developments on the protection of the human mind. Are we in need of an updated human rights framework? 01/11/2021 - 31/10/2025

Abstract

Although neurotechnologies are still in their infancy, they are expected to rapidly expand, resulting in an ever-wider range of applications and an unprecedented intrusion into the human mind. Largely novel risks related to the monitoring, manipulation, and even control of the mind will raise significant challenges for our human rights framework. Currently, the debate on this issue is very fragmented and dominated by non-legal perspectives. My research will be the first to engage in a comprehensive legal analysis, aimed at answering the question as to whether the current human rights framework is able to adequately respond to the challenges raised by neurotechnological developments, or whether it needs to be amended. The overarching goals are: (1) to examine the implications of neurotechnological developments for the human mind; (2) to determine whether and, if so, how these implications are addressed by the human rights framework; (3) to assess on that basis the adequacy of the existing human rights framework; and (4) to examine whether there is a need to clarify existing human rights or, alternatively, to supplement them with neuro-specific human rights to improve the human rights response and to make it future proof.

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  • Research Project

Kinship studies and health law. 01/12/2020 - 30/11/2025

Abstract

My research involves an analysis of the legal issues that may arise in potentially controversial healthcare interventions. The topics studied include but are not limited to: abortion; euthanasia and medically assisted suicide; organ donation in life and after death; organ trafficking; embryo research; prenatal testing, medically assisted reproduction, and surrogacy; biobanking; human experimentation; involuntary treatment; intersex; AI in healthcare; multiculturalism in healthcare. My perspective is ethical and legal-philosophical in addition to strictly legal.

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  • Research Project

"Masculinity as property": Towards a new legal theory on the relationship between gender-based forms of privilege and the law. 01/11/2020 - 31/10/2025

Abstract

Rooted in Critical Race Theory and Feminist Legal Theory, this project starts from the premise that masculinity continues to occupy a privileged position upheld by law. Despite the fact that gender equality has been formally achieved through the anti-discrimination framework, the law still legitimises gender-based disparities. The development of a new legal theory that departs from the traditional anti-discrimination framework is crucial to pinpoint and explain where male privilege is still endorsed by law. Inspired by Harris's foundational "Whiteness as Property", which conceptualises whiteness as a form of property guaranteed by law, this project aims to explore whether, and if so how, her theory of race-based oppression can be used to develop a new legal theory that better makes sense of (remaining) gender-based forms of oppression, by conceiving of masculinity as a form of property. In the same way as the exclusive enjoyment of property is legally protected, it can be argued that the privileges associated with cis-gender straight white masculinity evolved to become advantages guaranteed by law. Along this line of reasoning, after formal equality was achieved the law continues to protect this form of property in that it supports the status quo that de facto benefits men. In order to test this hypothesis and further develop the theoretical framework, recent European Union and Council of Europe law and case law that pertain to gender equality will be critically examined.

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  • Research Project

Drafting two working papers on the issue of neurotechnology and human rights. 30/10/2023 - 22/12/2023

Abstract

This project entails the drafting of (1) a working paper which evaluates and analyses whether and, if so, to what extent the current human rights architecture is adequate to protect individuals and groups against emergent neurotechnologies. Particular attention will be paid to how jurisprudence and existing regulations might be extended or developed to offer such a protection, and (2) a working paper which discusses specific applications of neurotechnology and analyzes the extent to which the existing human rights architecture provides adequate protection. Particular attention will be paid to identifying gaps in the protection framework that need to be addressed.

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  • Research Project

Francqui Chair 2022-2023 Prof.Britta van Beers. 01/10/2022 - 30/09/2023

Abstract

Professor Britta van Beers is the 2022-2023 Francqui Chair, awarded to the Faculty of Law of the University of Antwerp (Belgian Francqui Chair with foreign holder). She is a full professor in legal philosophy at the department of legal theory and legal history of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. In her research she explores the legal and legal-philosophical meaning of the concept of personhood and the symbolic dimensions and functions of the law in regulating and governing the new biomedical technologies. The Francqui Chair consists of an inaugural class and a series of 5 lectures organised in the second semester of the academic year 2022-2023.

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  • Research Project

Preparing discussion papers. 01/02/2022 - 31/12/2023

Abstract

Preparation of a discussion paper on equitable access to innovative treatments and technologies in healthcare, for the Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO) of the Council of Europe.

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  • Research Project

Mapping study of instruments, frameworks, and perspectives on elder abuse. 01/12/2021 - 30/11/2023

Abstract

This project aims to perform a first mapping of the instruments, frameworks, and perspectives that are relevant in preventing, detecting, and addressing elder abuse in Belgium. The results of this research will provide the foundations for future research aimed at establishing and implementing an interprofessional protocol that is able to adequately respond to elder abuse.

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  • Research Project

Consultancy on equity of access to treatments and equipment in the context of scarce resources. 01/04/2021 - 30/11/2021

Abstract

Redaction of a project outline on equity of access to treatment and equipment in the context of scarce resources, in the light of the comments received from the Committee on Bioethics of the Council of Europe (DH-BIO). Preparation of a draft instrument (guideline, recommendation) on equity of access to treatment and equipment in the context of scarce resources.

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  • Research Project

Consultancy of a recommendation on equity of access to vaccines in the context of public health crisis. 15/10/2020 - 20/11/2020

Abstract

Member States of the Council of Europe currently face a severe public health crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This health crisis is having a devastating effect on individuals, families, and communities. It also raises major ethical challenges and forces governments and competent authorities to take difficult decisions in a context of uncertainty and scarce resources. This project involves consultancy in the development of a possible legal instrument guaranteeing persons, within the context of a pandemic, access to vaccines in accordance with ethical principles and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as enshrined in Council of Europe instruments. These include the right to life and the protection against ill-treatment (Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights), the right to the protection of health (Article 11 of the European Social Charter), and the principle of equitable access to healthcare (Article 3 of the Oviedo Convention).

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  • Research Project

Consultancy on a strategic action plan on human rights and biomedicine with regard to human rights and technologies in biomedicine for the period 2020-2025. 20/09/2019 - 31/10/2019

Abstract

Consultancy, in coordination with the Secretariat of the Committee on Bioethics of the Council of Europe and the Chair of the Drafting Group for the Strategic Action Plan, carrying out an editorial review of the Strategic Action Plan on human rights and new technologies with a view to its presentation at the Committee on Bioethics at its 16th plenary meeting (19-21 November 2019).

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  • Research Project

Handbook for parliamentarians on the Council of Europe Convention against trafficking in human organs. 09/05/2019 - 05/10/2019

Abstract

Drafting a "Handbook for parliamentarians on the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs" designed to explain to parliamentarians and parliamentary staff the different provisions of the Convention and its added-value, and give them some examples of good national legislation.

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  • Research Project

Cross-border access to end-of-life services in Europe: a legal analysis. 01/01/2019 - 31/12/2022

Abstract

Within Europe, cross-border access to end-of-life services is quickly gaining in importance and, very recently, Belgium has become one of the main countries of destination. The proposed research project will be the first to systematically analyse the legal challenges that arise when European citizens want to access end-of-life services in another European country. The focus will be on assisted suicide tourism; euthanasia tourism; the import of suicide pills or materials; and the crossborder recognition of advance directives. The first goal of the research project is to examine the legal measures that countries have taken or could envisage to prevent their citizens from accessing end-of-life services abroad that are prohibited on their territory and, conversely, to examine the legal measures that are in place or could be envisaged in countries of destination to restrict foreigners from accessing certain end-oflife services on their territory. Research will be restricted to France and the United Kingdom as countries of origin, and to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland as countries of destination. The second and main goal of the research project is to examine the legal acceptability of the restrictions so identified, in the light of European Union law, human rights law, and international private law. In this way, we will determine which restrictions to cross-border access to end-of-life services in Europe have been or could be legitimately imposed.

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  • Research Project

Outline of the Strategic Action Plan to address human rights challenges raised by developments, in the field of biomedicine for the period 2020-2025. 12/11/2018 - 20/12/2018

Abstract

External consultant in the preparation of the outline of the Strategic Action Plan for the period 2020-2025 of the Committee on Bioethics of the Council of Europe, to address the human rights challenges raised by developments in the field of biomedicine.

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  • Research Project

Organ transplant tourism. 04/10/2018 - 30/10/2018

Abstract

Support of rapporteur Ms Stella Kyriakides, Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe, in the preparation of her report on "Organ transplant tourism" by providing an expert memorandum on the subject matter of organ transplant tourism (focusing mainly on the current state of affairs in Europe and worldwide, including the issues at stake, challenges, policy responses, related to this topic). Preparation of an expert memorandum on the subject matter of organ transplant tourism for rapporteur Ms Stella Kyriakides, Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe, October 2018. Presentation of the expert memorandum before the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, Council of Europe, 4 December 2018, Paris.

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  • Research Project

Late-term abortions: A comparative analysis of regulatory frameworks and legal challenges. 01/10/2018 - 30/09/2022

Abstract

Abortion of a viable foetus (henceforth late-term abortion) is a highly contentious topic and a source of growing concern. Despite raising truly exceptional legal issues, late-term abortions have not yet received systematic attention from legal experts. In order to fill this gap, the proposed research will be the first to systematically, and by way of international comparison, analyse the challenges that late-term abortions pose for medical and human rights law. Such an analysis is of exceptional importance in that it will highlight the possible limits of (the application of) essential principles of medical and human rights law. The focus will be on the legal tension that may exist between the legal recognition of the interests of the viable foetus and the rights to self-determination of the pregnant woman, which may impact significantly upon the physician's duty of care. This analysis will help determine whether we are witnessing the emergence of a new legal doctrine, that is focusing on the "best interests of the viable foetus", shows parallels with the "best interests of the child" standard and may require or prohibit certain medical interventions in the context of late-term abortions. More generally, it will shed fresh light on the unique and highly fascinating legal concept of "progressive legal protection", whereby legal protection is gradually extended to a foetus as it matures, reaches viability, and is born. The urgency and topicality of the project is further demonstrated by the fact that, within the Belgian context, the legal status of late-term abortions is not even settled, major legal developments are anticipated, and empirical data on the subject are completely lacking. For that reason, the project will give particular attention to the outstanding legal issues under Belgian law and to the merits and implications of position statements and legal initiatives that have recently been formulated. The project will result in recommendations to improve abortion legislation. Crucially, to provide an evidence base to inform these recommendations, we will be the first to, in close collaboration with other research groups that very recently have obtained access to two unique and relevant data sets, analyse empirical data on the practice of late-term abortions in Flanders.

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  • Research Project

Bioethics: protection of human rights in biomedicine. 11/06/2018 - 25/09/2019

Abstract

Coordination of the work of the expert group on the examination of the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 28-З On transplantation of human organs and tissues of 4 March 1997 (as amended in 2007, 2012 and 2015, as well as including draft amendments of 2018), vis-à-vis its compliance with the standards laid down in the reference documents on transplantation of the Council of Europe.

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  • Research Project

Bioethics: protection of human rights in biomedicine. 11/06/2018 - 10/09/2018

Abstract

Consultancy services related to the examination of the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 28-З On transplantation of human organs and tissues of 4 March 1997 (as amended in 2007, 2012 and 2015, as well as including draft amendments of 2018), vis-à-vis its compliance with the standards laid down in the reference documents on transplantation of the Council of Europe.

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  • Research Project

Organ trafficking and trafficking in persons for the removal of organs: A descriptive and critical analysis of international legal frameworks and their implementation. 01/10/2016 - 30/09/2020

Abstract

Organ trafficking – i.e. the use of financial inducements or other illicit means to obtain an organ – is a major point of concern for national governments, law experts, and physicians, due to its exploitative nature and its detrimental effects on the integrity of the transplant system. The combat against organ trafficking has only very recently become a priority for intergovernmental human rights, security and law-enforcement organisations, such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Interpol. As a result, various international legal instruments prohibit commercial dealings, coercion and fraud in the context of organ donation. In a parallel legal development, organ removal has also been included in international legal instruments dealing with trafficking in persons. Following the example of these binding criminal law instruments in the field of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs, and in response to the loopholes left by them, the Council of Europe has recently adopted a Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs, hereby establishing a parallel criminal law regime. However, due to the very recent nature of the criminal law regimes developed around organ trafficking and trafficking in persons for the removal of organs, there is major interest in (1) a clear delineation between both types of crimes, and (2) the way in which relevant provisions are currently implemented and should best be implemented in domestic law. In addition, taking into account the heterogeneous origin of both legal regimes, uncertainty exists about a number of crucial legal issues. The proposed research project will involve an in-depth legal analysis of the exact scope and delineation of the parallel international legal frameworks developed around organ trafficking and trafficking in persons for the removal of organs. Particular attention will be paid to the importance of the recently adopted Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs, signed by Belgium and several other Council of Europe Member States at its signing ceremony held on 25 March 2015. Subsequently, the normative validity of key policy options in the implementation of both legal regimes will be examined. This will involve an assessment of (1) the (un)desirability of criminalising donors and/or recipients, and (2) the extent of the duty to report on the part of physicians who are confronted with instances of organ trafficking and trafficking in persons with the purpose of organ removal. Next, a comparative legal analysis will be undertaken of relevant legal provisions currently in place in (a) Belgium and its neighbouring countries, (b) European countries that have been involved in the trafficking crimes concerned (e.g. Moldova, Spain, Turkey), and (c) non-European countries which have recently adopted relevant provisions (e.g. United States, Israel, Pakistan). More in particular, this will involve an examination of (1) the criminal law provisions dealing with trafficking in persons for the removal of organs, (2) the criminal law provisions dealing with organ trafficking, and (3) the protective and preventative measures contained in the transplant regulations. Finally, on the basis of the findings of this research project, loopholes and best practice examples will be identified and guidance developed on how best to implement provisions .

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  • Research Project

Kinship studies and health law. 01/12/2015 - 30/11/2020

Abstract

My research is devoted to the topics of organ trafficking, surrogacy, and experimental assisted reproduction technologies. With regard to the topic of organ trafficking, I will perform a legal analysis of the evolution and scope of the concept of organ trafficking and compare it to the concept of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal. This will be followed by a comparative legal analysis of national transplant regulations and penal provisions that are useful to prevent these types of crimes. In addition, I will also perform a legal and ethical analysis of key policy options in the combat against organ trafficking. With regard to the topic of surrogacy, I will explore (the evolution of) the supranational regulation of surrogacy and the regulation in Belgium and targeted other countries. Attention will also be given to the (alleged) right to procreate, to legal problems with respect to the nationality and parentage of children born under international surrogacy agreements and to the challenges raised by commercial surrogacy. The final subject concerns the legal implications of experimental assisted reproduction technologies, with particular attention to uterus transplantation, mitochondrial replacement technology, and 'artificial gametes'.

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  • Research Project