
blogs


Presumed consent, abortion and Falconer Commission on menu at BMA annual meeting
The British Medical Association’s Annual Representative Meeting (ARM) takes place at the end of this…

Using organs from euthanasia victims now an established procedure in ‘brave new Belgium’
Recently I blogged about Jack Kevorkian, the American pathologist known by many as ‘Dr Death’ for…

Papageno and Werther effects – public policy lessons for the prevention of suicide
I recently blogged about the new German film ‘Goethe’, a study of the early life of the celebrated…

Kevorkian’s life and death is sober warning of the dangers of legalising assisted suicide
Jack Kevorkian, the American pathologist known by many as ‘Dr Death’ for his role in helping over…

Paying less for vaccines – marketing strategy or an answer to prayer?
The giant pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced it will be making its Rotarix…

BBC to show Dignitas death – further bias and will fuel more suicides
The BBC’s decision to screen a man's dying moments at the Dignitas suicide facility in a documentary…

Telegraph highlights our comments on End of Life Charter not addressing religious beliefs
On returning from a trip to Canada, for the Third International Symposium on preventing assisted suicide…

The Problem with Care – more questions raised by BBC Panorama
Another week, and another story about poor care standards – this time an exposé on the BBC’s…

Altering the Body: the rise and rise of cosmetic surgery
This week the 90 second daily 4thought.tv programme on ethical topics tackles cosmetic surgery, under…

New End of Life Patient Charter is a good start but does not go far enough
More than 8,000 GP surgeries in England will be asked to display a new patient charter on end of life…

Times newspaper unwisely joins campaign to legalise assisted suicide
The Times newspaper has today (Monday, 30 May) devoted two whole pages and an editorial to the pro-assisted…
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 […]