
blogs


Open letter to Sir Graeme Catto, Chairman of Dignity in Dying
I have just made a formal complaint about a polling question which I believe may breach several Rules…

Reprimanded by the GMC for sharing faith with a patient – Dr Richard Scott
On 14 June the General Medical Council’s Investigation Committee reprimanded a Christian doctor who…

Same-sex parenting: controversies with the latest research
A major new study on same sex parenting has generated a great deal of online debate, particularly in…

Rally for better palliative care & against assisted suicide & euthanasia – 3 July
Dignity in Dying, the former Voluntary Euthanasia Society, are planning a mass lobby of parliament on…

Why does it now take stories like this to prick our consciences on abortion?
Few people in Britain now raise an eyebrow over the issue of abortion and I was struck by two casual…

Presumed consent could become law in Wales by 2015
Controversial plans to introduce new legislation on organ donation in Wales have taken a big step forward.…

Most people with locked-in syndrome do not wish to die
Tony Nicklinson is 58 and paralysed from the neck down after suffering a stroke in 2005. He is seeking…

Locked-in syndrome case seeks to establish dangerous precedent
A case of ‘locked-in syndrome’ that is appearing before the courts goes even beyond assisted…

How many women really died from abortions prior to the Abortion Act?
A common argument from the pro-choice lobby is that legalising abortion in 1968 saved thousands of women…

Why is the BMJ editor making a case for the BMA neutrality on ‘assisted dying’?
The British Medical Journal this week published three articles aimed at neutralising medical opposition…

Wise and courageous call in continuing treatment of anorexia patient
A High Court judge ruled yesterday that it is in the best interests of a woman who suffers from ‘extremely…
Happy Birthday NHS: Let’s not let a national good become a national god
Today (5 July 2018) marks seventy years since the world’s first, free-at-the-point of delivery, universal access, national healthcare system was launched. Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) has become so much a part of the fabric of British life and culture in those seven decades that it is regularly cited in surveys of the British public […]
How to live longer, healthier and happier
It would be hard to have missed some of the recent glut of news articles on the importance of physical activity for health and wellbeing. The latest official government press release this week, from Public Health England in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners, encourages adults to improve their general health and wellbeing […]
20 abortions every hour – still not enough to satisfy the abortion business
The latest Government statistics reveal yet another rise in the number of abortions in England and Wales, showing a 2.3% increase from 2016 to 2017. A total of 194,668 abortions in 2017 now brings the number since 1967 to some 9,000,000 abortions. That’s approximately 1 every 3 minutes. 20 every hour. 600 every working day. […]
Stifling Dissent
Behind the statue of George Orwell, author of Animal Farm, outside Broadcasting House in London, are inscribed the words from his preface to that book: ‘If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.’ Stifling dissent is of particular concern in science and medicine, where […]
Abortion pills outside medical supervision? That’s just the start
The current campaign to remove the administration of the abortion pill, misoprostol, from medical supervision and oversight is part of a long-term goal for abortion activists. Their goal is to bypass medical professionals in the process of medical abortion and remove as many legal restrictions on abortion as possible. This will be achieved step by […]
Alfie Evans has a progressive incurable illness but his parents should not be stopped from doing what they believe is best for him
Hear my Premier Radio interview on this case here. Alfie Evans was admitted to Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool in December 2016 suffering from seizures. He was found to have a (still undiagnosed) progressive neurodegenerative disease and has now been in a semi-vegetative state for more than a year. During that time, he has been on a ventilator in […]
Transplants: are the donors really, truly dead?
Organ donation has hit the headlines recently following a debate in Parliament. The Mirror claimed much of the glory with its headline: ‘’We did it!’ Organ transplant Bill to save up to 500 lives a year in England passes crucial Commons hurdle’ However, I have read nothing on the medical aspects of it, on the […]
Back to the backstreets with abortion
After successful lobbying by abortion providers, women in Scotland are now allowed to take the abortion pill at home, in a first for the UK. Since 83% of abortions in Scotland use medical methods (abortion pills) this will have a significant impact. I’ve recently blogged on this change in Scotland, citing medical concerns with allowing […]
Global Health Challenges for the Year Ahead
A year ago, I blogged about some of the global health challenges that Christians and Christian organisations would be facing in 2017. At the start of 2018 I thought it would be good to revisit some of those issues and look to others that are emerging in the coming year. Changing Aid Climate As predicted […]
Protecting Freedom of Conscience
As Christians we are called to respect the governing authorities as they are instituted by God himself (Romans 13:1,2). But are there limits? What should we do if they try to force us to do something we believe is wrong? The ‘Free Conscience’ campaign, launched this week with the backing of many Christian groups, supports […]
Ideology or evidence? The battle over abortion pills
The debate about the use of abortion pills at home is one of a number of controversial issues where I believe that we are increasingly seeing the triumph of ideology over evidence. I’ve explained elsewhere what the current practice is but, briefly, medical abortions (as opposed to surgical) are most commonly used up to nine […]
Conway assisted suicide case – autonomy is not absolute and this appeal should be dismissed
Watch my previous Sky News interview on the Conway case here. A 67-year-old Shropshire man with motor neurone disease (MND) who wants help from doctors to kill himself has been granted permission to appeal an earlier decision rejecting his case. The judgement was handed down today (18 January 2018) following an oral hearing at the Royal […]