
blogs


Always Covid and never Christmas?
What kind of Christmas are you looking forward to? This is the second one impacted by Covid and its restrictions,…

Assisted dying – far better help is available than most realise
Far better help is available for patients in great suffering and distress than many people realise.…

Love in the time of Covid – gospel unity on an astonishingly divisive issue of our time
Are you aware that there is a silent spiritual battle going on within our church families?
I have come…

U.S. surgeons successfully test pig kidney transplant in human patient
So ran the headline of an article in Reuters’ ‘Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals’ category late last…

Who’s the boss? Vaccinating our children
‘You do it all then – you’re the boss’, said the dad to his ten-year-old daughter, as they…

Vaccine passports – a 21st-century ‘apartheid’?
Vaccine passports are proof of COVID-19 vaccination status as a condition of participation in certain…

Has the RCP’s reluctance to issue guidance on fMRI scans for coma patients become indefensible?
In March 2020, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in the UK published national guidelines on the management…

‘I’m Going to Convert You’
Conversion Therapy Ban
'I’m going to convert you.' It has a paternalistic – perhaps even narcissistic…

Downright Discrimination – the issues in the Heidi Crowter case
On July 6th and 7th 2021, Heidi Crowter made history. She is the first woman with Down syndrome to take…

Capturing the language of (assisted) death
Those promoting the agenda that, in plain speaking, wants the UK to legalise doctors to be able to provide…

‘Dying with Dignity’ Bill defeated in Ireland
The Joint Committee on Justice in Ireland has put a halt to the Dying with Dignity Bill proposed by…
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. […]