
blogs


Do Christians divorce at lower or higher rates than others?
It is widely assumed that Christians divorce at roughly the same rate as non-Christians. This ‘fact’…

Trickle of British suicide cases to Dignitas continues as Swiss vote for status quo
Switzerland's parliament voted against a bid to toughen controls on assisted suicide this week, rejecting…

Why does God allow suffering?
What causes suffering? Is just fate? Retribution? All in the mind? Random molecules?
These are some…

Patients with dementia and psychiatric illnesses included as Dutch euthanasia cases rise steeply
According to Dutch media reports today, euthanasia deaths in the Netherlands in 2011 increased by 18%…

What do Ludwig van Beethoven, Justin Bieber and Tim Tebow have in common?
A professor in a college ethics class presented his students with a problem. He said, ‘A man has…

Warning to UK – Oregon Health Plan steers patients towards suicide
Members of the pro-euthanasia movement frequently point to the US state of Oregon, which legalised assisted…

BBC article on ‘gay therapies’ is simplistic, misleading and ignores much of the available evidence
Should people with unwanted feelings of same-sex attraction seek professional help? And if so what kind…

Major split in LibCon Coalition over assisted suicide
The Liberal Democrat conference voted yesterday to back the legalisation of ‘medically assisted dying’,…

Liberal Democrats back Dutch style legislation which would lead to 13,000 British euthanasia deaths annually
On Sunday 23 September the Liberal Democrat conference debated and passed a motion on ‘medically assisted…

Abortion after rape – the issues and emotions involved are not as straightforward as most people presume
I was interested to see published this week a statement from the ‘Ad Hoc Committee of Women Pregnant…

Current law supports eugenic abortion for disabled people – our letter in today’s Daily Telegraph
I am one of nine joint signatories to a letter in the Daily Telegraph today arguing that the success…
TV advertising for abortion is unnecessary, discriminatory and an abuse of taxpayers’ money
Private clinics that undertake abortions for profit will be allowed to advertise their services on television and radio for the first time, watchdogs ruled yesterday. Until now, only not-for-profit organisations have been permitted to use television and radio to advertise advice on unplanned pregnancies, although none have so far been able to afford the huge […]
More hype about ‘three-parent embryos’ – but huge ethical and safety issues
Two consultations have been launched this week into what has been called the ‘three parent embryo’ technique for eradicating diseases caused by genetic mutations in the mitochondria of cells. Both the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics will be carrying out enquiries into whether it would be appropriate and […]
MPs debate Care for the Dying
David Burrowes headed up a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday among around 20 MPs in a positive reflection about how we should care best for the elderly in our society. The importance of palliative care, not the legalisation of assisted suicide should be the central issue when talking about the dying, Burrowes argued. During the […]
Welsh plans to increase organ donation: costly waste of time and money
Not only are radical plans to introduce new legislations to increase organ donation on death in Wales going to cost millions of pounds, and be highly complicated to administer, they are also ‘ethically tricky,’ new research published in the journal Transplantation this month confirms. The publication of two new journal articles on organ donation after […]
Marriage – let’s be clear on the biblical and legal definitions – and fight to retain them
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, is quoted in the Telegraph today as saying that marriage is still the bedrock of society which promotes love, care and forgiveness in relationships. Last week, the same paper reported that a senior High Court judge, Sir Paul Coleridge, had launched a campaign to promote marriage and fight […]
REVIEW: John Stott – Serving Christ in Medicine
When I was student secretary of ICMDA I looked back to the life-changing days I spent at the ICMDA World Congress in Durban, South Africa in 1998 as a 4th year medical student. Combining excellent international Bible teaching and medical seminars with a mix of nationalities from dozens of nations, it was electrifying and had […]
Lessons from Stephen Hawking and Kathryn Higham about assisted suicide
Congratulations to Stephen Hawking (pictured), internationally renowned Cambridge physicist, who turned 70 this week. Hawking is probably the world’s most famous sufferer of motor neurone disease (MND) and apart from his contributions to science has also taught us two very important things relevant to the euthanasia debate. First is the unreliability of doctors’ prognostic forecasts. […]
‘Selective reduction’ – a euphemism for deliberately killing one or more babies in an IVF pregnancy
Last week’s Life Site News ran a story titled ‘Five best and worst biotechnology developments of 2011 from a pro-life perspective’ which is well worth a read in its own right. The third worst development it mentions is that of ‘selective reduction’: ‘This year we were introduced to the ugly practice of selective reduction, a […]
Five quick videos on the Falconer Commission on ‘Assisted Dying’ – What is it all about?
5 January 2012 marked the launch of the findings of the Commission on Assisted Dying, proposed by Dignity in Dying, funded by Sir Terry Pratchett and chaired by Lord Falconer (pictured). The Commission has called for a change in the law in England and Wales, to allow assisted suicide for adults who are terminally ill […]
The Winner of the 2011 ICMDA Dignity and Right to Health Award
It is our great privilege and pleasure to announce that Dr. Olive Frost is the most worthy winner of the International Christian Medical and Dental Association (ICMDA) HIV Initiative Dignity and Right to Health Award for 2011. The “Dignity and Right to Health Award” is an activity of the International Christian Medical and Dental Association HIV […]
Nursing Initiative: More tinkering at the edges?
In the face of a growing and alarming number of reports on poor standards of care for vulnerable patients in the NHS and the community, the Prime Minister today has launched an initiative to try and tackle the problem in hospital nursing. This is after yesterday also announcing a move back to integration of health […]
Lord Falconer’s commission – help in reading what lies between the lines in their press release
Lord Falconer’s Commission on Assisted Dying is reporting today. I have reproduced below their press release which needs to be taken with a large helping of salt. I have added my own comments marked in italics in order to help people read ‘between the lines’ Expert panel proposes framework to underpin any future change in […]