
blogs


Prenatal Screening and Down Syndrome – million-dollar ethics
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics, an independent think tank on bioethics, launched their report on the…

Why is Royal College of GP’s so keen to decriminalise abortion?
In February the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) announced their support for the decriminalisation…

Puberty Blockers: a societal experiment built on sand
Stories abound on social media. Documentaries and podcasts open the lid on the growing phenomenon of…

Two giants are approaching; are we ready for them?
On November 23rd a radical bill to decriminalise abortion and impose it on Northern Ireland was stopped…

Surrogacy: A selfless gift… or something more?
Surrogacy is often portrayed as a compassionate and beautiful act, a selfless gift, where a woman carries…

New Abortion Advice to Schools: Fact or Fiction?
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has produced a new factsheet on abortion…

‘Abortion does not cause mental illness’. Discuss.
A new factsheet produced for schools by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)…

A stark warning to UK doctors from Canada
A recent legal ruling in Canada is a strong warning for British medical professionals who conscientiously…

After Three Decades The Department of Health Recognises Fetal Pain
The eighteenth century philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, wrote of animals: ‘The question is not Can they…

The risks of neutrality on assisted suicide – lessons from abroad
Medicine has held a long-established opposition to assistance with suicide.
Ira Byock, an American Palliative…

Why the Royal College of Physicians will go ‘neutral’ on assisted suicide and why that matters
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is going to poll its 35,000 members to ask whether ‘they would…
Maya Forstater wins her appeal – gender-critical beliefs are ‘worthy of respect’
Maya Forstater has today (10 June 2021) won her appeal against the employment tribunal, which ruled that her gender-critical beliefs were ‘absolutist in nature’ and ‘not worthy of respect in a democratic society’. In a statement on YouTube, Forstater said: ‘Gender-critical beliefs are protected under the Equality Act, and people who hold those beliefs are […]
‘Don’t bother the midwife’: abortion as a parable for assisted suicide
The current series of Call the Midwife is set in 1966. We dispensed with World Cup fever in about half an episode and are now focussing on other things in the news that year. The most significant of these, from a midwifery perspective, was David Steel’s Abortion Reform Bill which was then going through Parliament. […]
COVAX – Its opportunities and challenges
Early in the pandemic (24 April 2020), long before any manufacturer had a vaccine ready for sale, long before results of trials had been published, a novel collaboration was established to ensure equitable global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines when any became available. This was done under the auspices of the WHO-sponsored ‘ACT accelerator’, supported by […]
Can we vaccinate our way out of the pandemic?
Here in the UK, we have been feeling pretty good about ourselves recently, with (at the time of writing) over 35 million adults having been partially vaccinated and more than 18 million fully vaccinated. In other words, more than two-thirds of the adult population has been at least partially vaccinated (nearly 55 million people), and […]
Assisted suicide debates are back yet again across the British Isles: it’s time for health professionals’ voices to be heard
Despite the backdrop of COVID-19 and the emphasis on caring for the most vulnerable in society, an old issue is firmly back on the political agenda. Assisted dying (assisted suicide and euthanasia) is being debated in different jurisdictions of the British Isles, with some MSPs and MPs planning to bring Private Members’ Bills to Holyrood […]
‘Conversion Therapy’ Ban: a review of the issues
You may be aware of current controversies around the issue of so-called ‘conversion therapy’. But you may be wondering what it’s all about and whether we need to worry about it as Christians and/or medics. This is a debate that, like so many current issues, has become extremely emotive and polarised. The whole issue is […]
The Impact of Gender Identity ‘Conversion Therapy’
What impact has Gender Identity ‘Conversion Therapy’ (GICT) had on gender diverse people? This is the question at the heart of the recently released 2020 ‘Conversion Therapy’ & Gender Identity Survey. The research is the collective effort of five LGBT+ charities and was conducted to provide evidence to the Government and Equalities Office as they […]
DIY abortion: one year on
On this day last year, the UK Government, after a bizarre double-u-turn, made the home an approved ‘class of place’ for early medical abortion up to ten weeks. Women could now obtain both mifepristone and misoprostol after just a phone or video consultation with an abortion provider. The pills would be sent to the woman’s […]
The Ethical Care Decision-Making Record – a cautiously optimistic response
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP), together with the General Medical Council (GMC), have just released a new resource; the Ethical Care Decision-Making Record (ECDMR), which aims ‘to help clinicians, patients and their families or carers make decisions together about the levels of care that will be provided when a clinical decision is required.‘ People […]
A Go-To Resource for Christians on Transgender
I first became properly aware of the reality of gender dysphoria and transgender about five years ago. I learnt about what gender dysphoria is and how painful and debilitating it can be. I gained some level of insight into the identity questions and desire for community that are often part of the transgender experience, and […]
Integral mission through palliative care in Nepal
When the first mission workers arrived in Nepal in 1954, Leprosy was endemic and caused much suffering with high levels of disability, social stigma and ostracism from the community. With its mission to serve the poorest and most marginalised, International Nepal Fellowship (INF) opened Green Pastures Leprosy Hospital in 1957. Whilst Leprosy remains an important […]
Organ Trafficking in a Time of COVID
Organ Trafficking in Egypt: ‘They locked me in and took my kidney’. Indonesian woman shocked to find kidney had been removed after working in Qatar. Pakistani police rescue 24 from organ trafficking gang. The organ snatchers: Boy of 12 smuggled into the UK…for gang to sell his body parts on black market. These are just […]