Printed from: https://www.cmf.org.uk/resources/publications/content/?context=issue&id=141
It was a great day in the House of Lords on 12 May when Lord Joffe's Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill was defeated by a majority of 148-100. It is comparatively rare nowadays to hold a vote at the second reading of a bill in the upper house,...
Have you heard of CMF's National Students' Committee? Do you know what it is? Well, just over a year ago I too would have answered 'no' to both those questions. Over the last year the National Students' Committee (NSC) has emerged and is now playing a vital role in CMF's...
There seems to be no escaping the Da Vinci Code. It has generated massive interest since Dan Brown's bestseller was published in 2003. The film, released worldwide in May 2006, has only served to increase the hype. Essentially, it's a fast-paced murder mystery involving the smart and handsome Robert Langdon,...
The moral status of the human embryo is central to contemporary debates on the ethics of cloning, embryo research, stem cell research, genetic engineering, assisted reproduction, preimplantation diagnosis, genetic screening, post-coital contraception and the production of chimaeras and 'non-organismal entities'. Although the language predominantly used in the media is...
The use of embryos within modern medical research and treatment has created a flurry of ethical discussion. There was a time when the intricacies of embryonic development were unknown to us. Pregnancy and childbirth were firmly within the 'mysteries' of nature and any discussion about beginning and ending early life...
Why Ethics Matters! In my second year at medical school we were given a series of ethics lectures. These were delivered by a variety of academics, many of whom were extremely eminent in their field. However, despite this and (probably more importantly) the exam at the end of the course,...
I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Mt 5:28) This passage seems to set Christian men an unattainable standard for holiness, especially in the modern world of sex on the TV, sex on the internet, sex on...
When I walk into London underground stations I am frequently confronted with the stark contrast between the Christian mindset and the world's desires. Sex appeal is used to sell designer clothes and beach holidays. Posters advertising the latest films, albums and gadgets to spend money on, pander to our self-interest....
The pro-euthanasia lobby has been very effective (up until recently) in promoting their message of 'compassionate relief of unbearable suffering'. They have succeeded in gaining the support of the general public, which, some polls suggest, is 82% in favour of a change in the law. Thankfully, and mercifully, the House...
HFEA widens PGD criteria The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has widened its criteria for preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) by giving the go ahead for screening embryos for the breast and ovarian cancer 'susceptibility' genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, and the colon cancer gene HNPCC. The HFEA, who had previously...
