
blogs


The government’s new ‘prevent duty guidance’ – imposing political correctness on university groups
The Government’s Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, currently being considered by the House of…

Freedom of conscience in the new Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Conduct
A new year seems a good time to launch a new set of guidelines, and the NMC have chosen this January…

Disaster response: Malawi faces floods
Many people here daily live life on the edge, so it doesn’t take much to push it over into…

Why abortion is not the best solution for pregnancy following rape or incest
This incredibly difficult and sensitive issue has come into public discussion again as the Northern…

Why have we become so scared of disability?
When I went to see the midwife at 36 weeks of pregnancy, I did not expect to find myself leaving in…

Buffer zones – a form of subverting freedom of speech and real choice
It would appear that once again, liberties are under threat of being curtailed by the proponents of…

Ebola: Christmas is cancelled
As many of us stop work and get ready to enjoy Christmas, let’s spare a thought for the people of…

Conscientious Objection and the worrying implications of the Glasgow midwives case
The right for health professionals to exercise their conscientious objection to participating…

Ebola: dispatches from the frontline
CMF member Sam Dunnet is working as Staff Health Manager for Save the Children in Sierra Leone. Here…

Court rules that unborn babies are ‘organisms’: a look behind the headlines
Seven years ago, a baby girl (who cannot be named for legal reasons) was born to a 19 year old mother…

Censuring debate and free speech at Oxford University
Not for the first time, a college at a top UK university has completely shut down an attempt to organise…
Canada’s home MAiD disaster?
My first recollection of the impact legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide would have – for that is what Medical Assistance in Dying (the innocent-sounding MAiD) is – was at a conference in Paris. An Ontarian ethicist enthusiastically explained to us how, among other preparatory measures for MAiD, all the mannequins in the resuscitation training rooms […]
Celebrating two Black British nursing pioneers
To mark Black History Month, we wanted to tell the story of two prominent Black nurses from British history, Mary Seacole and Chief Kofoworola Abeni Pratt. Both faced prejudice but battled through to gain recognition for their work. Their stories are a reminder that Black nurses have been making a significant contribution to the profession […]
Acting with a clear conscience? WMA, GMC, BMA, and moral injury
Having reasonable freedom to act in accordance with our conscience is something that Christian healthcarers rightly value. A number of recent events and reviews over the last year or so highlight some of the perennial vulnerabilities of conscience provision but also some reasons for hope and optimism. WMA International Code of Medical Ethics The World […]
Our workforce is on its knees: it’s time for us to be as well
A response to the RCN and RCM strike ballots Propping the staff room door open with her foot, Maria leans out into the corridor and shouts, ‘Bex! You coming for lunch soon?’. When I finally pull myself away it’s gone 4 pm. ‘I did make you a cup of tea’ Maria gestures to the cup […]
Praying for patients – punishable or permitted?
A Christian doctor who offered to pray for patients has agreed to attend a course on ‘boundaries’ after settling his case with the NHS. The Christian Legal Centre said Dr Richard Scott has been ‘vindicated‘ as NHS England lawyers agreed that the doctor is free to pray with patients if he does so within General […]
Queen Elizabeth II
We were all greatly saddened to hear yesterday evening (8 September 2022) of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second after a short illness. CMF wishes to extend our sympathies to the Royal Family and share in the nation’s mourning. In a reign spanning seven decades that saw massive social, political and cultural […]
Brain death, resurrection, and Archie Battersbee
Since June, when I last wrote about the deeply distressing case of Archie Battersbee, his ventilator was eventually switched off on 4 August. Soon after, he was declared dead when his heart subsequently stopped beating. In the evidence they gave at the court hearing on 6-8 June, the healthcare professionals caring for Archie all agreed […]
Unethical and outlawed are not the same
An article in the New Statesman this week implied that Conservative Party leadership contender Penny Mordaunt MP, had been involved with an organisation that ‘wants to outlaw abortion, even in cases of rape’. This might have been an interesting story if she had indeed had any relevant links to such an organisation; even more when […]
Roe v Wade
Last week we witnessed an event that I never thought I would see in my lifetime: the overturning of Roe v Wade. This 1973 Supreme Court decision held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, the right to privacy, protects a woman’s freedom to terminate a pregnancy. Half a […]
Wisdom of God or medical wisdom?
I have been working as a midwife for a few years now. As a believer, I am constantly fascinated by God’s design and wisdom and have been from day one of my training. Sometimes it appears to me as a midwife that in the last few decades, science has been catching up with what was […]
The tragedy of Archie Battersbee
Mrs Justice Arbuthnot’s judgement earlier this month on the tragic case of Archie Battersbee is sobering reading. Her ruling came across to me as kind and thoughtful, and the fact that she took time to visit Archie in hospital for herself speaks highly of her commitment to do the right thing for this twelve-year-old boy […]
Whole Genome Sequencing: challenges and opportunities
You may have requested whole-genome sequencing (WGS). You may be wondering what the words mean. Is it an exciting new way to improve health and wellbeing, or is it a modern tower of Babel (Genesis 11)? This article aims to help us understand WGS to better think about what it means for us as Christian […]