
blogs


New Study of Medical Students Reveals a Strong Support for Freedom of Conscience
A study in the Journal of Medical Ethics published yesterday showed that nearly 50% of medical students…

General Medical Council and Medical Defence Union endorse ‘tactful’ offers of prayer by GPs
The GP magazine Pulse reports in an exclusive this week on new guidance from the Medical Defence Union…

A life precious to God – how to cope when you find your unborn baby has special needs
There is a deeply heart-warming story in the Daily Mail today (July 18 2011) titled, ‘Doctors told…

Greater than Google – final reflections on the Developing Health Course
I'm back in the office after the Developing Health Course, analysing feedback forms, tying up loose ends…

Martin Pistorius: a story about faith, hope and love through ‘locked in syndrome’
The Sunday Times today tells the story of Martin Pistorius, a South African man who ended up paralysed…

Britain promotes media advertising for abortion whilst Russia attempts to curb it
The Daily Telegraph carried the story earlier this month that private clinics which carry out abortions…

Italy joins Bulgaria and France in blocking euthanasia legislation
Earlier this year I reported that France, Australia, Scotland, Israel and Canada had recently blocked…

Abortion and mental health: is there a link?
This is a question that has been the subject of many a debate in academia, in politics, in the public…

Is Treatment Becoming the New Prevention Fad for HIV & AIDS?
Two new studies (one in Kenya and Uganda, the other in Botswana) were published this week suggesting…

Emmerdale injects some reality into its depiction of the sequelae of assisted suicide
I am not an Emmerdale fan but I was interested to see the way the Soap is developing the story following…

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis is too high a price for a perfect baby
Last week the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) held its annual meeting…
Midwives are meant to save unborn lives, not destroy them
According to the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), which is meant to represent all midwives, the role and duty of midwives must now also include assisting in ending the lives of unborn babies. And, the RCM makes clear in a new statement, if you refuse you have limited right of appeal. It has recently come […]
The CEO of the Royal College of Midwives must step down over this abortion scandal
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has come under fire for backing the BPAS ‘We Trust Women’ Campaign, which advocates the decriminalisation of abortion up until birth. RCM CEO Cathy Warwick gave her backing to the controversial campaign back in February, when she said that the campaign had the College’s ‘full support’. This will surprise […]
New RCM abortion statement is a further assault on freedom of conscience
Fallout from the Glasgow Midwives case continues to roll out. This month the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) released (rather quietly) their new position statement on abortion. The case of Doogan & Wood highlighted an issue with the conscientious objection clause in the 1967 Abortion Act. Specifically this was around what constituted actually being involved […]
Halfway Through this Journey: Talking about dying
Benjamin Franklin is widely credited with the pithy aphorism ‘in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.’ After the recent leaks from the Panamanian tax firm Mossack Fonseca we have learnt that the super-rich may be exempt from the latter, but neither wealth nor virtue spares any of us […]
‘Dear Mr Hunt, listen to the real experts…’
It is not only junior doctors who are trying to get their voices heard by Jeremy Hunt. One young lady last week made an impassioned plea directly to the health minister, on an issue that is arguably more about life and death than is the case with employment contracts. Her speech has been watched thousands […]
Rise of the Healthcare Robots: Five Ethical Issues To Consider
Once considered the subject of our imagination, best left in the realm of science fiction, robots are now a growing technology that is rapidly changing our world. We have become accustomed to seeing them on our TV screens in cartoons such as The Jetsons (1962-1988) or in films such as Big Hero 6 (2014), Elysium […]
What’s in a name? Some interesting facts about the new Francis Crick Institute
With the recent news about the Francis Crick Institute and the HFEA’s decision to allow one of its scientists, Dr. Kathy Niakin, to conduct research into the controversial embryo gene editing technique Crispr-Cas 9, we thought it would be interesting to find out more about the organisation that is pioneering germline (inheritable) genetic engineering. What […]
My right to have non-politically correct views
Two years ago I posted a blog about the censuring of debate and free speech which is probably more relevant than ever. That blog had been prompted by an earlier incident at Cambridge where I had been on the receiving end of attacks on my freedom to speak. It was not at the level that […]
Disability and Abortion
On 2 February Students for Life (SFL) was pleased to welcome Philippa Taylor, head of public policy at Christian Medical Fellowship. Her subject was the relationship between disability and abortion, and due to SFL’s secular views, she spoke only from an ethical/legal perspective. Abortion became legal in the UK in 1967 with the passing of […]
International campaign launched asking UN to protect babies with disability from abortion
Disability rights groups have launched a campaign asking The United Nations and other organisations to protect babies with Down syndrome from being aborted. The #StopDiscriminatingDown campaign is being spearheaded by The Jerome Lejeune Foundation in France, USA and Spain and Downpride in the Netherlands and Canada. The campaign follows news that several countries have introduced, […]
Legal abortion until term?
UK abortion provider BPAS has launched a campaign to legalise abortion-on-demand, up-to-birth, for any reason. Parliament is considering debating the issue. For more information on this see http://www.righttolife.org.uk/comment-opinion/abortion-up-to-birth/ The following are my own personal reflections: My daughter was born at 27 weeks gestational age. She came unexpectedly early, weighed just 2lbs and looked very fragile. […]
‘God is in everything I do’
As Head of Nursing at the Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF), Steve Fouch ensures that nurses and midwives get the support they need to be witnesses for Christ where they work. His department does this in several ways. They set up local meetings to assess nurses’ needs and to see how CMF can help. ‘This is […]