blogs

Putting faith in global healthcare
I have long argued on this blog that there needs to be a greater engagement with faith based…

The BMA: A trade union with integrity?
Can the British Medical Association (BMA) be trusted to ‘maintain the honour and interests of the medical…

Abortion and preterm births: what women need to know but are not told
Prematurity - a birth prior to 37 weeks gestational age – has recently been described as: ‘the…

Candour in the NHS: Speaking the truth in love?
We would all want a good degree of honesty from anyone caring for us or treating us for a medical condition. …

Nurses caught up in immigration battle
The annual congress of the Royal College of Nursing opened on Sunday, and it began with a warning. …

Morning-after pill is now available to all girls UNDER the age of consent
News that the morning-after pill, ellaOne (which can be effective up to five days after sex), is now…

Elisabeth Elliot enters ‘the gates of splendor’
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” ― Jim…

How safe is the school cancer vaccination for young girls?
New reports (including on the front page of the Independent) are adding to the evolving story…

The new ethical frontier: DIY eugenics
The single most controversial development in biology in 2015 is a relatively cheap, easily manipulated…

Scottish Assisted Suicide Bill gets short shrift from MSPs
Patrick Harvie’s Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill has been defeated today in a free vote by 82 votes…

Thirteen ‘solutions’ to mitochondrial disease assessed
Mitochondrial disorders are passed on through a mother’s mitochondrial DNA. They are progressive…
Thirst for life – raising alcohol prices to save lives
A study released today by the Center for Addictions Research of British Colombia has found that a 10% increase in minimum per unit pricing of alcohol has led to a 32% drop in alcohol related mortality in two Canadian Provinces. Furthermore, the increase in price seems to have reduced alcohol consumption (and related health problems) […]
Francis Report shines revealing light on the NHS
When some ill-advised bloggers in the US attacked the British National Health Service in the summer of 2009, little could they have realised the fire-storm they would unleash as angry Brits fought back with the #WeLovetheNHS hash tag campaign. Some commentators have suggested that the NHS is the nearest things the British have to […]
Radio Four debate on ‘change therapies’ for unwanted same-sex attraction
This morning I took part in a short documentary on the Radio Four Sunday programme on ‘change therapies’ for those with unwanted feelings of same sex attraction. The presenter was Ed Stourton (pictured). ‘Change therapy’ (more accurately SOCEs – sexual orientation change efforts) is aimed at altering the strength and direction of sexual feelings and […]
Survival of twins born at 23 weeks and new Inquiry into abortion for disability reopen debate on abortion upper limits
When twins Mackenzie and Cameron Glover were born 17 weeks prematurely on 17 June last year, they were so tiny that their mother said they could ‘fit inside a pint glass’. Now, after a lengthy battle for life against the most astonishing odds, the boys, born at just 23 weeks and three days gestation, have […]
Inquiry into Abortion on the Grounds of Disability – a chance to remove discriminatory laws?
For the first time for years a cross Parliamentary group will be thoroughly reviewing the law on abortion for disability, with a particular focus on whether it is discriminatory or not. The Abortion Act 1967[1] sets no time limit on when an abortion may take place on grounds of disability (Ground E). Therefore it is […]
Warning sounded to UK as Oregon assisted suicide deaths hit record high
Lord Falconer has just announced that he is about to introduce a new bill into the House of Lords to legalise assisted suicide along the lines of the Oregon model – assisted suicide for mentally competent adults who have less than six months to live. Members of the House of Lords should note that statistics released just last month […]
Flesh and Blood – giving more than money
A campaign to mobilise churches to increase the number of blood and organ donors in the UK has been launched this week. The aim is to build on the Christian culture of giving and make blood and organ donation part of this. In other words, to encourage blood and organ donation as another way of […]
Lord Falconer announces yet another bill on assisted suicide
Lord Falconer (pictured) announced this week(£) that he would launch another bill to legalise assisted suicide this May in the House of Lords. It is likely that Falconer has opted again for the Lords rather than the Commons, despite past heavy defeats there, because an opinion poll last September showed that more than seven out of ten MPs […]
Belgian twin euthanasia story is just the tip of a chilling iceberg
The case of the twin brothers euthanised in Belgium before Christmas is just the latest step in an escalation of euthanasia which is badly out of control. In a case which attracted world attention, Belgian doctors announced earlier this month that a fortnight before Christmas they euthanised 45-year-old deaf identical twins who were going blind […]
Cloning Neanderthal babies: what we really need to be concerned about
Could it really be possible to create a cloned Neanderthal baby? A Harvard Professor of Genetics, who helped initiate the Human Genome Project, seems to think so, and his views have been spread around media outlets worldwide. Of course, just because Der Spiegel and the Daily Mail report it, does not mean that there is […]
Self-help books for depression – brilliant new tools for doctors, pastors and patients
A top health story on the BBC this last week has highlighted a new study showing that prescribing self-help books on the NHS is an effective treatment for depression. I have GAD and social anxiety disorders all my life. The doctor recommends me to try Klonopin to deal with stress and enhance my mental state. I didn’t […]
Catholic midwives appeal court ruling forcing them to supervise abortions
Two Roman Catholic midwives who lost a legal battle to avoid taking part in abortion procedures have launched an appeal at the Court of Session. The outcome of the case will be crucial in defining the scope of the conscientious objection clause in the 1967 Abortion Act and a ruling is expected in the spring. […]