
blogs


David Cameron is right about loving one’s neighbour but has he missed the whole point of Easter?
Tony Blair’s spin doctor Alistair Campbell famously said that the Labour government didn’t ‘do…

New Down’s syndrome research: saving lives vs saving money
A wonderful video has recently been released to honour those with, or caring for, people with Down’s…

Fertility rites and wrongs: New complications with new ‘families’
A case concerning twin girls has come before the Court of Appeal that almost defies imagination in…

Latest NICE guidance on contraception could harm young people
New guidance from NICE recommends that Government provides free morning after pills, condoms (male…

Relationship signposting: another role for GPs?
GPs may soon see their portfolios expanded even further, this time into relationship territory, according…

Should doctors be involved in abortion decisions?
‘Doctor knows best.’ Those who are adamantly ‘pro-choice’ and fighting for abortion…

David Cameron presides over largest liberalisation of abortion practice since 1967 Abortion Act
Prime Minister David Cameron has presided over the largest liberalisation of abortion practice since…

New government consultation on three parent embryos asks the wrong questions
The Department of Health today has published for consultation draft regulations to allow mitochondrial…

One of the best weeks of my life…
Last week was the International Medical Students Conference, which was one of the best weeks that I…

Abortion and breast cancer: just scaremongering or could there be a link?
A new report by Education for Choice (EfC) on pregnancy counselling states that: ‘linking abortion…

Behind the headlines: information and misinformation in pregnancy counselling
The pro-abortion organisation, Education For Choice (EFC) which is a project within the sexual…
Clegg calls for increase in use of surrogacy in the UK
Speaking to the PinkNews website recently, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said surrogacy could, and should, be a great help for same-sex couples wanting to start a family: ‘Families come in all different shapes and sizes and there will almost certainly be more and more gay couples considering adoption or surrogacy in the future…It’s great […]
Nepal earthquake – a helping hand in a shaken land
Utter devastation. At least 5,500 dead, thousands more injured and 70,000 homes destroyed. This is the scale of last Saturday’s earthquake in Nepal. The world reacted immediately – as it now can and does in these types of disasters, thanks to news outlets and social media. Our CMF International Facebook Group has been an excellent […]
Deeply flawed assisted suicide bill must be rejected by Scottish Parliament at the earliest opportunity
A report by MSPs criticising the proposed assisted suicide Bill before Holyrood has been welcomed by campaigners opposing the legislation. The Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill, introduced by Green Party MSP Patrick Harvie, is due to have its first stage debate in the Scottish Parliament by the end of May. On a raft of crucial matters […]
New DNA editing technique for mitochondrial disease may render three parent embryos redundant
A new technique for removing harmful genes from strands of DNA could potentially obviate the need for three parent embryos for preventing mitochondrial disease. Researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, have reported success for the first time in using gene-editing technology to prevent mitochondrial diseases being passed from female […]
DPP faces new legal challenge for ‘clarifying’ guidelines on prosecutions for assisted suicide
Perhaps surprisingly, the Sunday Times has been the only broadsheet newspaper to cover a landmark case which challenges the powers of the crown prosecution service. The CPS head Alison Saunders (pictured), Director of public prosecutions (DPP), is already in considerable hot water over her failure to prosecute Lord Janner for alleged sex abuse, an action […]
Overwhelming majority ignored in sham NI abortion consultation
Proposed changes to Northern Ireland’s abortion laws have been utterly & overwhelmingly rejected by a massive majority according to newly published consultation figures. Justice Minister Ford’s consultation was launched in October 2014 and closed in January 2015. It asked whether the current laws on abortion in NI should be changed to allow for abortion in […]
Assisted Suicide – In the face of two major threats the price of freedom is eternal vigilance
Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill sought to legalise assisted suicide (but not euthanasia) for mentally competent adults (aged over 18) with less than six months to live, subject to ‘safeguards’ under a two doctors’ signature model similar to the Abortion Act 1967. The Bill had an unopposed second reading in the House of Lords on […]
Bruce Forsyth’s recent pronouncements on assisted suicide are seriously misguided
Celebrity entertainer Sir Bruce Forsyth (pictured) has called for the legalisation of assisted suicide after watching his ex-wife succumb to dementia. His first wife, Penny Calvert spent her last years in a care home, dying last year. Bruce was married to Penny from 1953 to 1973 and they had three daughters. He later remarried twice. […]
New study confirms that making morning-after pill free without prescription increases sexually transmitted infections and fails to reduce pregnancy rates
Half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended. One might therefore assume that making the morning-after pill (MAP) more widely accessible would cut the unplanned pregnancy rate. Not so. A new recent US study is the first to estimate the impact of making the morning-after pill available over the counter without prescription on abortions and […]
Why do Government and fertility organisations show no interest in the health of egg donors?
The pressure to harvest women’s eggs is not only increasing, it is also taking different directions. No longer just for reproductive purposes, women’s eggs are urgently needed for research and for treatment, most recently for germline therapies (to create three parent babies). However it is not easy to obtain large numbers of eggs. The […]
In ‘Modern Families’ mother and father are no longer necessary
‘Modern Families: Parents and Children in New Family Forms’, a new book by Professor Susan Golombok from Cambridge University, has recently received a great deal of media publicity. It brings together 35 years of research on parenting and child development in ‘new family forms’ including lesbian mother families, gay father families, families headed by single […]
Changes to NHS charges for missionaries
British doctors working overseas with mission agencies, humanitarian organisations and development charities may soon be required to pay 150% of the normal cost of any secondary health care they receive from the NHS. The new NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 will come into force on 6 April 2015, as part of an […]