Printed from: https://www.cmf.org.uk/resources/publications/authors/?id=48&index=20
The 1974 edition of the British Medical Association's (BMA) ethics handbook provided guidance on important matters such as whether a consultant or a GP should enter the room first when both visited a patient. Times have changed significantly, and medical ethics with them, and the new edition of the handbook,...
For many people the right to do what they wish with their bodies, for whatever reason, is paramount. Autonomy is central to arguments used in favour of physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Such bids for self-determination are also found in debates around abortion and reproductive ethics, and are the driving force behind...
From 5-8 September, nine students and several junior doctors from across the UK and Ireland attended the students’ and juniors’ preconference prior to the International Christian Medical and Dental Association’s (ICMDA) European Conference (8-12 September). This takes place every four years, and was held this time at the beautiful ‘Geistliches...
In April, the media wowed us with heartwarming reports about the latest medical technology: three dimensional fetal ultrasound. Large, colour pictures pioneered by Professor Stuart Campbell’s team at London’s Create Health Clinic, displayed the unborn babies in amazing detail. The new scanners demonstrated fetuses at twelve weeks stretching, kicking and...
Sadly it’s time for me to put the lid on my pen and hand over the editorial reigns of Nucleus. I’m now in my last year at medical school and I realise with a heavy heart that it’s about time I started focussing on some medicine! However, the occasion makes...
Peter Singer is arguably the world's most famous contemporary philosopher. He is currently Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, and well known for his support of abortion, euthanasia and infanticide. He has also been vocal about his opposition to 'speciesism' - the preference of human interests over those of other...
I recently finished my psychiatry placement and I strongly suspect that it isn't the specialty for me! At the time, it seemed that the only good thing about the firm was a working day that started at 10:00 and was usually finished by 15:00. However, as I reflect back on...
Britain has become one of the world's most secular societies, according to a recent poll. The survey was commissioned by the BBC for a documentary entitled 'What the world thinks about God'. Only 67% of those interviewed admitted that they believed in a god or other higher power, in contrast...
Many of the arguments Christians put forward in ethical debates revolve around what we perceive as the sanctity of life. This is the intrinsic value bestowed on each of us simply because we are human and thus known and loved by God. His image stamped on us (Gn 1:26,27) is...
The author of a recent editorial in the Student BMJ suggested that it is time for medics to abandon the 'pretence of morality' involved in the tradition of ceremonial oath taking.[1] He argues that morals are not fixed but change with shifts in cultural values, and that swearing a generic...
