
blogs


Abortion: ‘A caring service’
A BBC 5 radio programme has broadcast live from an abortion clinic, describing what happens to women…

Of course, nursing needs ‘compassion’
New nurses should be judged on their compassion not just their skills, according to Sir Keith Pearson,…

Assisted suicide deaths increase by 40% in one year in Washington State
The number of Washington state residents who died of physician-assisted suicide rose to 70 in 2011,…

Mum beats lung tumour after refusing to sacrifice her baby to save her own life
There is an inspiring story in the Daily Mail this morning about a 21 year old mother who beat cancer…

‘Beauty is more than what you look like’: mother’s inspiring video about her blind baby boy
A YouTube video that a young mother has created about her blind baby boy and his rare cleft palate…

BMA strike ballot – how should Christian doctors respond?
Today the BMA has begun to ballot members on whether to take industrial action over government pension…

New warnings on risks of popular infertility treatments
Hot on the heels of warnings last week about one in ten babies suffering birth defects after ICSI (intracytoplasmic…

Educating women is the key to lowering maternal mortality
The fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) put forward by the United Nations (MDG-5) proposes to reduce…

Phyllis Bowman, campaigner who led struggle against abortion and euthanasia, dies aged 85
The veteran British pro-life campaigner Phyllis Bowman has died aged 85.
Bowman, who was described…

New GMC & Stonewall leaflet on getting ‘discriminatory’ doctors struck off
The General Medical Council, the official regulatory body for doctors, has published a leaflet in conjunction…

A week with two good prayers and one bad one
I’ve just returned from a fantastic CMF National Conference at Swanwick on the theme 'heroes of faith'.…
Junior Doctors – top tips on surviving your first week on the wards
As I write, Twitter is buzzing with doctors and other healthcare professionals imparting their knowledge and advice to the new Junior Doctors who will be arriving on the wards next week (#tipsfornewdocs). Some of their tweets are included below. I was asked to offer my own thoughts to Christian Junior Doctors on how to […]
Faith in family planning
Last week saw a major summit in London on the role of family planning in global development, hosted by the British Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), and instigated by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It was primarily a pledging conference, with the great and the good from many nations taking it in turns […]
Our inevitable eugenic (Gattaca) future
For those who think that eugenics is safely consigned to the history books, please read on. Or those who think that Gattaca was just a science fiction film, with the emphasis on fiction, read on now. Our concern at CMF with the growing eugenic mindset in the UK has been well covered by several CMF […]
Response to Daily Mail article reveals frightening attitudes to disability
There is an article in the Daily Mail today reporting on the incidence of abortion for Down’s syndrome in IVF pregnancies. Statistics show that in 2009, the most recent year for which figures are available, a total of 127 abortions were carried out on babies conceived through IVF-type assistance. The data held by the Human […]
Lancet Study proves significant growth in euthanasia deaths in the Netherlands
Alex Schadenberg, Chair of the International Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, has today published a full analysis of the Lancet review of euthanasia deaths in the Netherlands. I have reproduced this in full below. The long awaited 2010 nationwide examination of the euthanasia law in the Netherlands was published in the Lancet on 11 July, 2012. The study found that: […]
Facts suggest abortion doctors in 14 NHS trusts should be prosecuted for perjury
Fourteen NHS abortion clinics have broken the law by allowing doctors to pre-sign forms authorising a termination according to the health service regulator in England. This is in breach of the Abortion Act, and allows the second doctor to take a solo decision to allow a termination. The breaches were uncovered in an investigation ordered […]
BMJ: People with severe dementia should be starved and dehydrated to death to save money
There is an editorial in the British Medical Journal this week by a retired professor of philosophy titled ‘Sanctity of life law has gone too far’. Raanan Gillon reviews the case of M, a woman in minimally conscious state, who was the subject of a court of protection ruling last year. I have written about […]
Dutch doctors turn to ‘continuous deep sedation’ to keep official euthanasia figures low
The Lancet has just published an article purporting to show that euthanasia rates have not increased in the Netherlands since legalisation in 2002. This news will probably be seized upon by enthusiasts for decriminalisation in the UK and elsewhere but the figures are not at all what they seem at first sight and the press […]
Dialogue and Development
I have commented before on this blog about the need for secular aid agencies and donors to develop great faith literacy, just as the faith sector needs to be open to learning from and working with our secular counterparts in international health. A couple of weeks ago, we saw one of those little steps in […]
Developing Health Course – final reflections
The Developing Health Course is over, and I am back at my desk. What a privilege it has been to spend time with so many people – participants and speakers – who are passionate about serving God by serving the poor. The second half of last week was given to women’s health and we […]
A new IVF milestone
Thirty-four years after the first test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in 1978 it is estimated that around five million babies have now been born, worldwide, using IVF. The five million figure is based on official figures up to 2008, plus three years of estimates. Whether or not this is completely accurate, it does […]
BMA corrects Lord Falconer’ s misrepresentation of its position on ‘assisted dying’
Yesterday I drew attention to Lord Falconer’s false claim in the Times that the British Medical Association had adopted a neutral position on ‘assisted dying’ (a euphemism for assisted suicide and euthanasia). In fact the BMA, like the RCGP, RCP and Association for Palliative Medicine, are all opposed to any change in the law. The […]