
blogs


Prenatal Screening and Down Syndrome – million-dollar ethics
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics, an independent think tank on bioethics, launched their report on the…

Why is Royal College of GP’s so keen to decriminalise abortion?
In February the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) announced their support for the decriminalisation…

Puberty Blockers: a societal experiment built on sand
Stories abound on social media. Documentaries and podcasts open the lid on the growing phenomenon of…

Two giants are approaching; are we ready for them?
On November 23rd a radical bill to decriminalise abortion and impose it on Northern Ireland was stopped…

Surrogacy: A selfless gift… or something more?
Surrogacy is often portrayed as a compassionate and beautiful act, a selfless gift, where a woman carries…

New Abortion Advice to Schools: Fact or Fiction?
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has produced a new factsheet on abortion…

‘Abortion does not cause mental illness’. Discuss.
A new factsheet produced for schools by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)…

A stark warning to UK doctors from Canada
A recent legal ruling in Canada is a strong warning for British medical professionals who conscientiously…

After Three Decades The Department of Health Recognises Fetal Pain
The eighteenth century philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, wrote of animals: ‘The question is not Can they…

The risks of neutrality on assisted suicide – lessons from abroad
Medicine has held a long-established opposition to assistance with suicide.
Ira Byock, an American Palliative…

Why the Royal College of Physicians will go ‘neutral’ on assisted suicide and why that matters
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is going to poll its 35,000 members to ask whether ‘they would…
Latest NICE guidance on contraception could harm young people
New guidance from NICE recommends that Government provides free morning after pills, condoms (male and female ones) and other contraceptives, all readily accessible to school girls, including those under the age of consent, without parental knowledge. The guidance says that youngsters should be able to stock pile the morning-after pill in advance, keeping it at […]
Relationship signposting: another role for GPs?
GPs may soon see their portfolios expanded even further, this time into relationship territory, according to the Daily Telegraph. GPs, midwives and registrars may soon be enlisted to help couples stay together and reduce levels of family breakdown under new government plans. This proposal is being driven by Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions […]
Should doctors be involved in abortion decisions?
‘Doctor knows best.’ Those who are adamantly ‘pro-choice’ and fighting for abortion to be freely available on request, will disagree with this aphorism, because for years abortion campaigners have fought to remove the need for a doctor to sign abortion notification forms. In their view, women should not have to get a doctor to […]
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 the passing of the Abortion Act in 1967. Under his leadership, former health minister Andrew Lansley, working closely with abortion providers and senior figures at the Department of Health, has managed to smuggle in what is in effect a nurse-led abortion […]
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 donation to prevent the transmission of serious mitochondrial disease from mother to child. The consultation will close on 21 May. This new government consultation is not asking whether but how these controversial techniques for mitochondrial disease should be implemented. In so […]
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 can remember! This was the conference that I had been helping to organise as part of volunteering for CMF. It had become a big part of my life as I had spent the last 5 months sending out […]
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 to breast cancer and ‘post-abortion stress’ is ‘medical misinformation’. It also states that: ‘Cancer Research UK has confirmed that abortion does not increase the chance of developing breast cancer. Despite this, a purported link has been promoted by anti-abortion organisations.’ […]
Behind the headlines: information and misinformation in pregnancy counselling
The pro-abortion organisation, Education For Choice (EFC) which is a project within the sexual health charity, Brook, who themselves work closely with the Family Planning Association to promote abortion, has produced a new report based on its own mystery shopping of some independent pregnancy counselling centres, mainly linked to LIFE and Care Confidential. Their […]
Abortion rates presented in a different way
During a clear out of old work papers and files recently, I came across a paper that stopped me in my tracks. It took just a moment to look through and understand, and be moved. The paper shows the power of visual representation and messaging over (often) dry statistics and percentages. The visual representation following […]
Francis Report: one year on
Kicking an institution already reeling from exposés of their failings seems to be the mode du jour, at least if the UN’s recent dressing down of the Vatican is anything to go by. All our institutions are under scrutiny and criticism like never before, not just the church (of all ecclesiastical flavours), but everything from […]
Carers: low pay is a scandal
A report published today suggests that the vast majority of local authorities are paying less than the recommended minimum to provide domiciliary, personal care for the elderly. The UK Homecare Association says that just over £15 an hour is the minimum needed to provide essential care – including paying staff national minimum wage of £6.31 […]
BMJ gives platform for abortion activists to dismiss evidence of adverse effects of abortion on women
The BMJ published a controversial article on abortion in early January, authored by employees of abortion providers, claiming that medical and surgical abortions are not associated with long-term psychological or physical sequelae and offering no hint of any ethical concerns with abortion. It is frustrating that the BMJ offers a platform for such openly pro-abortion […]