Further stem cell advance brings clinical trials with ethically produced embryonic-like stem cells one step closer
Ethical stem cell treatments for diseases like Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and multiple sclerosis…
Margo Macdonald’s criticisms of the Care Not Killing Alliance are without foundation
In the two hour debate that immediately preceded the overwhelming 85-16 defeat of her End of Life assistance…
Overwhelming defeat for Margo Macdonald’s End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill
Tonight, the Scottish Parliament has voted overwhelmingly by 85 to 16 to reject Margo Macdonald's End…
The vast majority of the members of Lord Falconer’s new commission on assisted dying are well-known names in the pro-legalisation lobby
Today I went by invitation to the launch of Lord Falconer’s Commission on ‘Assisted Dying’ at…
Further disclosures about Lord Falconer’s Commission on Assisted Dying raise more questions about transparency and independence
The Commission on 'Assisted Dying', due to be launched on Tuesday 30 November, has attracted some more…
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…
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’…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
A prayer for the new government
As a Christian nurse, I am intrigued to see how God might use the recently elected Government to help heal the UK’s National Health Services (NHS). As Christian healthcare professionals, we need to avoid getting sucked into negative talk in our places of work, such as, ‘Oh, just another load of false promises’! In contrast, […]
Assisted suicide: am I my neighbour’s keeper?
This week the Isle of Man’s lower house voted through the third reading of their Assisted Dying Bill. The bill, at its core, says that ‘a person who is terminally ill may request and lawfully be provided with assistance to end their own life.’ And this week, Lord Falconer is also introducing a similar bill into The House […]
Anticipating the Cass Review? A personal historical reflection
In light of the recently published Cass Review, guest blogger, Don Horrocks (Retired Head of Public Affairs at the Evangelical Alliance), offers us a personal, historical reflection on the last 26 years of involvement in the legal landscape surrounding transgenderism. It seems only yesterday, but in fact it was in 1998 26 years ago […]
Walk75 | Prayer Walk for Health
This year, we celebrate 75 years since the Christian Medical Fellowship came into being. Over that time, God has done some amazing things through Christian medics, nurses, midwives, and others coming together to pray, study God’s word, serve and encourage one another, and share the good news of Jesus. In the UK and worldwide, we […]
McArthur ‘Assisted Dying’ Bill announced
On 29 March 2024, Liam McArthur, MSP, announced his ‘Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill’ to the Scottish Parliament. This will now be debated and scrutinised by the Parliament. If passed, it would mean the legalisation of doctor-assisted suicide for those with an advanced illness who choose it, within the Scottish NHS. The […]
A confluence of evils
There are times when you see a confluence of evils merging from afar, but they merge so slowly that most people remain totally unaware of them, or if they are they just shrug their shoulders and move on. I first wrote about my concerns over organ donation from those requesting euthanasia (ODfE) in 2017 when Belgium […]
Midwifery in the headlines
Midwifery was in the news for all the wrong reasons at the end of last year. As a midwife of ten years, I was heartbroken to read headlines from The Times that said: ‘Midwives “toxic” working conditions putting babies’ lives at risk, report finds‘ and The Telegraph that said: “Russian roulette’ maternity units risk lives […]
Striking the right balance
how can Christian medics decide about industrial action? Until a decade ago, I was a medic struggling through the NHS quagmire. So, when I had the opportunity to join the CMF Junior Doctors Conference back in November 2023, I prepared myself to meet lots of doctors now near drowning in the thickening muck. In the […]
Want to change the future?
Having grown up in a TV family, I particularly loved movies that fostered the imagination, especially time travel. To be able to change what could have been or what might be, was the stuff of childhood dreams. What would you change if you could time travel? Suppose you could jump in a time machine, and […]
The ‘Letby effect’ on this paediatric nurse
Firstly, let me say that I cannot even begin to imagine the grief the families involved in this case must have gone through these last eight years and are still going through. The atrocities committed by Lucy Letby are chilling and deeply distressing. Honestly, it doesn’t seem enough to say that my ‘thoughts and prayers’ […]
The UK’s first womb transplant – what the media missed out
The first UK ‘womb transplant’, carried out by Richard Smith’s team in Oxford and announced at the end of August, understandably gained a lot of press coverage and was heralded by some as the ‘dawn of a new era’. In fact, the first uterus transplant was carried out in 2000 in Saudi Arabia in a […]
Lucy Letby – a warning for NHS culture
The tragic loss of life and heartache caused by Lucy Letby is beyond imagination. Our hearts go out to all those affected. Undoubtedly, mistakes were made that look even worse with the power and accuracy of the ‘retrospectoscope’. Patient safety was not put first, nor was the dogged pursuit of the truth of what happened […]