
blogs


Lucy Letby- a deep grief
This is such a deeply disturbing case. One of the most horrifying scandals to ever hit the NHS. A neonatal…

Doctors on strike – reflections of a conflicted consultant
On 1 August 1983, my life changed forever. I started work in the NHS. I lost all that I had known of…

Complete societal capture on abortion
The sentencing of a woman for two years imprisonment for performing a home abortion with pills obtained…

Mitochondrial manipulated births: a muted reception
For a prospect anticipated for almost 20 years, the announcement in a Guardian exclusive of the successful…

When is a ‘synthetic’ embryo a real embryo?
Embryonic stem cell-derived embryos (ESCDEs) have been around for a long time.
Last year, an ESCDE,…

You wouldn’t do it to a dog! Current fetal pain relief in NHS abortions
This blog should perhaps carry one of those BBC-style warnings, ‘some viewers may find the following…

Moral flip-flopping over doctors and the death penalty
I have long argued that ethicists who advocate euthanasia while at the same time being opposed to capital…

‘Because you’re worth it?’ The BMA and the junior doctors’ strikes
Easter 2023 is likely to be remembered for a long time in the NHS. Straight after a four-day bank holiday…

‘Of Mice and Men’
The Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in 2018 really hit the headlines when Prof He…

When is a baby not a baby?
Last week Panorama ran an ‘investigation’ into pregnancy advice centres which they claimed give misleading…

Neuro-silicon interfaces: a new mode of being?
The idea of humankind being merely machines has a long history, stretching back to Julien Offrey De La…
The false prophets of the population control lobby and their appalling track record
On 31 October when the world’s population reaches seven billion we will be subjected to a whole host of alarmist reports about impending disaster – through overcrowding, disease and environmental destruction – and the population control lobby, led by prominent journalists and media celebrities, will try to persuade us that our salvation lies in making […]
Three horrific stories of abuse of women and children abroad raise a disturbing question
Three horrific stories involving the abuse of women and children abroad have featured in our newspapers in the last couple of weeks. First was the report that witch doctors are abducting children in Uganda for the purpose of child sacrifice. The ritual, which some believe brings wealth and good health, was almost unheard of in […]
Royal College of Nursing finally issues guidance on dealing with assisted suicide requests from patients
In July 2009, the Royal College of Nursing announced that, after consultation with their membership, they were withdrawing their historic opposition to assisted suicide, and were moving to a ‘neutral’ position. At the time this was heavily criticised as sending out a message of tacit support for assisted suicide. Furthermore it was based on a […]
‘In praise of stem cell simplicity’ – brilliant New Scientist editorial
The New Scientist editorial this week, ‘In praise of stem-cell simplicity’, gives a fantastic overview of exciting new avenues in ethical stem cell research which are opening up. It should be required reading for all UK science journalists who sadly use press releases from the biotechnology industry or briefings from the Science Media Centre as […]
GMC: recognising importance of spiritual care but struggling to define it
The General Medical Council is about to review ‘Good Medical Practice’, its general guidance to doctors, and new draft guidance is due to be issued later this month. Early indications are that the revised guidance will give more latitude to doctors attempting to provide whole-person healthcare (including spiritual care) but will take a harder line […]
Stem cell patent ruling is a triumph of ethics over commercial expedience
British scientists are kicking up an enormous stink about yesterday’s court ruling that scientists can’t patent stem cells if they are obtained by destroying human embryos. Europe’s highest human rights court, the EU Court of Justice, said the use of human embryos ‘for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes which are applied to the human embryo and […]
Changing attitudes, changing hearts – reflections on the Care Quality Commission report
I know what it is to not to give elderly patients the time and care they deserve. On the ward round at the beginning of a busy day, isn’t it easier to stand at the end of the bed of the elderly patient who’s ‘waiting for social’ and wave rather than stop and talk to […]
Gamete donors: compensation or payment?
Over the past few days there has been a spate of articles in the media informing us that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) intends to increase the rates of payments – sorry, ‘compensation’ – given to egg and sperm donors. Despite claims from the Chair of the HFEA today, Lisa Jardine, that no […]
Falconer Commission on ‘assisted dying’ gets ready to report
Even before it was launched in November 2010, commentators were asking serious questions about the status and independence of Lord Falconer’s so-called ‘independent commission on assisted dying’. These concerns intensified when it emerged that the privately organised enquiry was the idea of campaign group ‘Dignity in Dying’ (formerly the Voluntary Euthanasia Society) and was being […]
Times newspaper launches its (largely good) ‘silver manifesto’ for elderly people
With all the bad news about elder abuse and neglect in the news lately it was (largely) refreshing to see the Times newspaper this morning launching its ‘Silver manifesto’ – 50 ways to improve age (£) The Times sets the context as follows: Barely a day passes without a story of maltreatment and neglect of […]
Cliff Richard and euthanasia – what did he really say and does it matter?
I’ve just done an interview on BBC Radio Humberside off the back of Sir Cliff Richard’s alleged support for euthanasia in this morning’s papers. The headlines do certainly seem to indicate that the 71 year old entertainer wants a change in the law. The Daily Telegraph leads with ‘Cliff Richard: Why I would consider euthanasia’; the Daily […]
Managing time – lessons from the grand master
Do you wake up in the morning and ask the Lord: ‘What is it that you have prepared in advance for me to do today?’Or, like me, do you often wonder how you will complete all the tasks that lie before you? Competing time demands are an inevitable part of life, and to some extent, […]