
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…
By focusing exclusively on HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB, Western governments and NGOs have neglected other easily treatable and curable diseases
Micah Challenge is a global coalition of Christians holding governments to account for their promise to halve extreme poverty by 2015. It is establishing a global movement to encourage deeper Christian commitment to the poor, and to speak out to leaders to act with justice and its specific focus is the Millennium Development Goals. The […]
Serious questions raised about status and independence of new Commission on ‘Assisted Dying’
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) last week ran a story about a new Commission on ‘Assisted Dying’ that is due to launch officially on Tuesday 30 November in London. Demos, which is hosting the commission, describes itself on its website as ‘a think-tank focused on power and politics’ and gives the following information about the […]
17th Century lesson for medical students today
Thomas Sydenham, a man of deep Christian faith who many regard as the father of English medicine, said the following in his advice to medical students in 1668: ‘Whoever applies himself to medicine should seriously weigh the following considerations: First, that he will one day have to render an account to the supreme Judge of […]
Death of a tea lady – the unforeseen effects of a bad management decision
When I was a general surgical registrar in Auckland, New Zealand the ‘management era’ was just beginning. Someone, who I expect had never worn greens and didn’t know one end of a retractor from another, was examining the operating theatre budget in some office remote from the front line. About $15,000 needed to be saved […]
Scottish GPs add their voices to those calling for final burial of Scottish ‘End of Life Assistance Bill’. Read final committee conclusions here.
A GROUP of 47 GPs have united in opposition to moves at the Scottish Parliament to legalise assisted suicide. The Scotsman published the letter on Saturday. On Thursday 25 November the Scottish Parliament will vote on Margo Macdonald’s End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill, which if passed will legalise both assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia […]
The Committee scrutinizing Margo MacDonald’s Bill have recommended that it be rejected – now it is time for MSPs finally to bury it
I have previously blogged about Margo MacDonald’s End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill which seeks to legalise both assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia and Scotland. I argued that Margo Macdonald has been seriously misleading both the Scottish people and Parliament itself about its likely effects. The Committee scrutinizing the bill has now published its Stage […]
‘We have a charge from Christ to care for the weakest in society’ – Dr Trevor Stammers speaks on Channel 4 about abortion
Channel Four are showing a series of short films this week about different people’s views on abortion. Dr Trevor Stammers spoke tonight and you can watch the clip on the Channel 4 website. Here are some excerpted comments: ‘To me it’s an absolutely chilling thought that the Virgin Mary would have been a prime candidate […]
Don’t believe everything you read in the Washington Post – a compendium of the most recent medical evidence linking abortion and mental health
I recently blogged about an adjournment debate in the House of Commons in which Nadine Dorries MP spoke about the mental health consequences of abortion and argued the case for a law ensuring that women seeking abortion be offered information about the health consequences of their decision. The day after the debate the Daily Telegraph […]
The pro-euthanasia lobby’s reaction to Frances Inglis’ sentence reveals their agenda and ignores key facts of the case
Under British law mercy killing (ie. euthanasia voluntary or involuntary) is treated as murder under the Murder Act 1965 and carries a sentence of life imprisonment. The judge has discretion in sentencing for murder depending on the facts of the case and may lessen the sentence in the light of mitigating factors such as ‘provocation’ […]
The Inglis judgment should send a strong signal that it is not acceptable to take another person’s life, even in desperation.
A woman from East London who was found guilty of murder after giving her brain-damaged son a lethal heroin injection to end his ‘living hell’ has lost an appeal against conviction. Frances Inglis, 58, of Dagenham, was jailed for life with a minimum term of nine years at the Old Bailey in January. Three judges […]
New advances in embryo testing may result in higher success rates for IVF but at what cost?
Two new embryo screening tests have been recently developed that researchers believe will increase success rates for women having a health baby after IVF treatment. At present only about 30% of women under 35 have a baby following IVF and this percentage drops with age falling to 10% by age 40. The new tests enable […]
New report claims that junior doctors’ training ‘puts patients at risk’ but will the government be prepared to pay for the real solution required?
A new report, Foundation for Excellence, this week has claimed that patients are being put at ‘unnecessary risk’ because inexperienced junior doctors are being ‘thrown in at the deep end’. The 128-page report, led by Professor John Collins of Oxford University (interestingly one of my old surgical bosses!) for Medical Education England, analysed the two-year […]