
blogs


Abortion and conscientious objection – My letter to the General Medical Council and their reply
On 21 June this year I wrote to Mr Niall Dickson, Chief Executive of the General Medical Council, to…

The violations of medical ethics at Guantanamo Bay are not dissimilar to those that led ultimately to Nuremberg
Bioedge has this week drawn attention to an independent report which has highlighted ongoing…

What does the Bible actually say about life before birth?
The Bible does not support the view that some human lives are worth less than others. All are made in…

New report shows close links between public health and private relationships
What do the following have to do with relationships?
Cardiovascular disease, child poverty, alcohol/substance…

Jesus Christ was unashamedly speciesist
In 2011 British farmers slaughtered 26,000 cattle and introduced emergency measures to curb the spread…

Euthanasia – what does the Bible say?
There are two instances of euthanasia in the Bible. In the first, Abimelech, believing himself to…

Lord Falconer’s ‘assisted dying’ bill is ‘asking Parliament to sign a blank cheque’ say Peers
In a report published today by think-tank Living and Dying Well three Peers with distinguished legal…

Cheap grace – a false gospel and a deadly enemy of the church
Many evangelicals are suspicious of ethics. They think it undermines grace and distracts from…

Lord Falconer’s ‘assisted dying’ bill is ‘asking Parliament to sign a blank cheque’ say Peers
In a report published today by think-tank Living and Dying Well three Peers with distinguished legal…

British government hesitates on three parent embryos as international opposition mounts
The legalisation of three parent embryos for mitochondrial disease in Britain has been facing massive…

Lord Falconer reveals that his ‘Assisted Dying Bill’ effectively places doctors above the law
Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill (details here), which aims to legalise assisted suicide for…
a palliative care doctor’s response to the Leadbeater Bill
November 29, 2024, is a day that could be pivotal in our nation’s history. No turning back. However, I believe it won’t be, not if we unite. A few weeks ago, the story of David and Goliath was preached in my church. Never has a sermon spoken to me more clearly. As my husband gripped […]
what is Kim Leadbeater proposing?
With less than three weeks until MPs will be asked to debate and vote on her Bill, Kim Leadbeater has finally published the text of her ‘Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill’. Amidst busy schedules, this hardly seems a reasonable time frame for MPs to consider what Ms Leadbeater herself said is ‘potentially one […]
Truth and trust in transplantation
Transplant medicine is one of the greatest medical advances of the last century, but public trust is essential for it to attract potential donors – both living and deceased. For deceased donations to progress in most countries, even if the donor has expressed a wish to be a donor, their family members generally have to […]
Dying with dignity? The problems with the latest move to legalise assisted suicide
Dying with dignity in a caring, compassionate environment, surrounded by those we love. I don’t think anyone would want their or any other person’s end of life to be anything other than like this. However, how we achieve such a good death has become an increasingly hot topic of controversy. The fundamental disagreement over the […]
We are a multitude of voices
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who […]
What can we say as Christians about the Lord Darzi Rapid Review on the state of the English NHS?
Ara Darzi’s independent review into the performance of National Health Service (NHS) England, commissioned soon after the Labour election victory in July, was published on 12 September. The report has been well received as an honest appraisal of the current state of the NHS. The fact that the NHS is in serious trouble will come […]
Legalising assisted suicide: why now?
The papers are reporting that Sir Keir Starmer supports fast-tracking a bill to make a seismic change in British law. He reportedly wants to legalise assisting the suicide of terminally ill adults with a vote in parliament before Christmas. But why is this apparently among his top priorities? Whilst some high-profile supporters of assisted suicide […]
The NMC Code in the light of Jesus – ‘Preserve Safety’
(Read The Code online – The Nursing and Midwifery Council (nmc.org.uk) I have recently been prompted to re-engage with our Nursing and Midwifery Code of Professional Conduct, and in this blog, I consider this in light of the biblical principles by which I seek to live my life. Perhaps one of the things that prompted […]
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 interfaces to communicate‘, according to a recent article in Nature. We have little idea of how many patients there are in the UK with Prolonged (more than six […]
A prayer for the new government
As a Christian nurse, I am intrigued to see how God might use the recently elected Government to help heal the UK’s National Health Services (NHS). As Christian healthcare professionals, we need to avoid getting sucked into negative talk in our places of work, such as, ‘Oh, just another load of false promises’! In contrast, […]
Assisted suicide: am I my neighbour’s keeper?
This week the Isle of Man’s lower house voted through the third reading of their Assisted Dying Bill. The bill, at its core, says that ‘a person who is terminally ill may request and lawfully be provided with assistance to end their own life.’ And this week, Lord Falconer is also introducing a similar bill into The House […]
Anticipating the Cass Review? A personal historical reflection
In light of the recently published Cass Review, guest blogger, Don Horrocks (Retired Head of Public Affairs at the Evangelical Alliance), offers us a personal, historical reflection on the last 26 years of involvement in the legal landscape surrounding transgenderism. It seems only yesterday, but in fact it was in 1998 26 years ago […]