Speak kindly – your comatose patient may be listening
At least ‘one quarter of people with brain injuries who seem unresponsive can hear things going on around them and might even be able to use brain-computer in... Read more.
You wouldn’t do it to a dog! Current fetal pain relief in NHS abortions
This blog should perhaps carry one of those BBC-style warnings, ‘some viewers may find the following content distressing’. This is because it deals with som... Read more.
Wrongful conception – the latest weapon in culling disability?
At the end of November, in the High Court, the case of Toombes v Dr Philip Mitchell was heard before Rosalind Coe QC, acting judge. The claimant, 20-year-old Ev... Read more.
Has the RCP’s reluctance to issue guidance on fMRI scans for coma patients become indefensible?
In March 2020, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in the UK published national guidelines on the management of patients with prolonged disorders of conscious... Read more.
Scottish Government muddles sex and gender – and plans to legalise the confusion
The Scottish Government is consulting on a plan to make the existing process to obtain legal recognition under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 a better service ... Read more.
Diana Johnson’s Bill could return women to the perils of ‘back street’ abortion days
Today, 23 October 2018, Diana Johnson MP introduced a Ten Minute Rule Bill to decriminalise abortion in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (NI). The bill was ... Read more.
The Prime Minister’s transgender proposals dangerously oversimplify a complex mental health issue
The Government’s public consultation on possible means to make it simpler and easier for people in England and Wales to change their legal gender conclude... Read more.
The wisdom of repugnance
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has just published its findings in answer to the question ‘what do we mean when we talk about nature, natural/ unnatural and... Read more.
New screening test for Down’s creates more problems than it solves
The UK National Screening Committee (NSC) is recommending a new test for pregnant women that will detect a higher proportion of fetuses with Down Syndrome. The ... Read more.
Suicide – oh no, assisted suicide – oh yes!
On 19 January, Nick Clegg called for a ‘zero suicides’ target among people suffering from mental illnesses. Almost 4,700 people committed suicide in UK in... Read more.
