
blogs


Marie Stopes International: carrying out unsafe abortions in the UK and across the globe, using taxpayer millions
For the past five years, the charity Marie Stopes International (MSI) has been given £163 million in…

Seeing the Person behind the disability
Late in June, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) abolished the role of Disability Commissioner.…

Why the rush to change blood donation deferral policies for commercial sex workers & men who have sex with men?
Commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men (MSM) in Britain and Scotland are to be allowed…

College climbs down over ban on Christian doctors and nurses training in sexual and reproductive health
Doctors and nurses wishing to practise in sexual and reproductive health have been granted more liberty…

DNA editing – a significant advance but many questions remained unanswered
You can see my Sky News interview on this story here.
Scientists have, for the first time shown that…

Ideology or Evidence (part two)? The battle over abortion statistics
Having blogged about the triumph of ideology over evidence in relation to the campaign in England, Scotland…

Ideology or evidence? The battle over presumed consent to organ donation
The debate about changing the law on organ donation is one of a number of controversial issues…

Charlie Gard: Emotion has trumped trust in today’s society, but parents and professionals can work together
The tragic case of Charlie Gard, and the desperate efforts of his parents Connie Yates and Chris…

Why Boots chemist should not have capitulated to pressure from BPAS over emergency contraception
Over the weekend I waded into the debate on whether Boots should reduce the price of the so-called ‘morning-after…

Family planning – ‘summit of a mess’
Last week’s London Family Planning Summit was, on the surface, a ‘successful’ follow up to the…

The Conway Case – a change in the law to allow assisted suicide is dangerous and unnecessary
A 67-year-old Shropshire man with motor neurone disease (MND) is seeking to overturn the law banning…
A Christian vision for nursing – a report from the NCFI Europe conference
In September, 100 Christian nurses from 15 European nations, (and three non-European ones) gathered in Madrid to look at the Christian vision of whole person nursing. This was the Ninth European Regional Conference of Nurses Christian Fellowship International (NCFI) Europe is a very diverse region, and we enjoyed sharing in each other’s national costumes, […]
Euthanasia deaths in the Netherlands continue their relentless rise
According to Dutch media reports today, euthanasia deaths in the Netherlands in 2013 increased by 15% to 4,829. This follows increases of 13% in 2009, 19% in 2010,18% in 2011 and 13% in 2012. In fact from 2006 to 2013 there has been a steady increase in numbers each year with successive annual deaths at 1923, 2120, 2331, […]
Why are the Home Secretary and Metropolitan Police allowing this man to operate in Britain?
Notorious Australian euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke has been in the news again. Last week, it was reported that his organisation Exit International was establishing a London office to ‘cope with demand’ from UK citizens for assisted suicide. The group, which charges members a fee to access online information and attend workshops to discuss […]
What is the true cost of ‘wrongful births’?
A tiny article in a free Metro newspaper last week caught my attention: ‘Wrongful birth bill hits £56.1 million. Hospitals have paid out more than £10 million a year in compensation to mothers who had a disabled baby without being offered the chance to have an abortion. The NHS Bill over so-called ‘wrongful birth’ cases […]
A great video on depression and an insight from one of the world’s greatest preachers who suffered from it
‘The Black Dog’ was Winston Churchill’s famous name for depressed mood. I was sent today a link to a YouTube video on depression which I had not previously seen, but which deserves much wider viewing. ‘I had a black dog, his name was depression’ is only four minutes long. Do take a look. Millions have […]
Thank you, Professor Dawkins!
Thank you, Professor Dawkins! Who said nothing ever happens in August! Just as we were looking forward to a quiet bank holiday weekend, up pops Prof Dawkins with a disturbing tweet. Responding to another Twitter posting by a woman admitting she would face a ‘“real ethical dilemma”’ if she became pregnant and found she was […]
When is genetic modification not genetic modification? When the Government decides it isn’t
Ministers know there is widespread public opposition to growing genetically modified (GM) crops in the UK, and will therefore appreciate that if more of the general public were aware that they are planning to allow GM babies to be created, using completely experimental techniques, there would be far more concern and opposition to it. So […]
Whose baby is it? Another tragic case from an IVF mix-up
Most of the major newspapers have highlighted the news from Italy of an impending court battle between two different sets of ‘parents’, fighting over soon-to-be-born twins. An Italian woman is shortly to give birth to twins from embryos that were implanted at a fertility clinic during IVF treatment, but, as a result of a mistake, […]
Does your birth certificate really tell the truth about your birth?
For most, the answer to this will of course be yes. But for some people, the answer will actually be no. Emma Creswell is one of perhaps 70,000 children who have been born through donor conception and who have birth certificates that do not reflect their genetic parentage. She only found this out by chance. […]
Don’t make Oregon’s mistake and legalise assisted suicide – ten reasons why the UK should not follow suit
Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill, due for a second reading in the House of Lords on 18 July, is purportedly based on the US state of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act (DWDA). Dignity in Dying, the former Voluntary Euthanasia Society, who are backing Falconer, claim that everything is wonderful in Oregon. But is that really true? In fact, […]
Public support for Falconer’s ‘Assisted Dying’ Bill drops dramatically to just 43% when arguments against are heard
There is ample poll data showing that the majority of the British public support legalising assisted suicide (AS) in principle. The former Voluntary Euthanasia Society (now rebranded Dignity in Dying) claims a figure of 80% although I have previously argued that such levels of support are uncommitted, uninformed and unconvincing. However, there has been very little […]
Falconer bill is a recipe for the abuse of elderly and disabled people, says Care Not Killing
On the eve of the House of Lords’ debate on Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill, Care Not Killing, an alliance of 40 organisations, has called on peers to reject the proposed legislation on grounds of public safety. Campaign Director Dr Peter Saunders said, ‘This bill is a recipe for the abuse of elderly and disabled […]