Jesus’ Nazareth Manifesto as a basis for healthcare mission
Jesus Christ’s dynamic entry into first century Palestine was marked by miraculous healing of many…
The new healthcare professionals’ group seeking to legalise assisted suicide includes a number of well known campaigners
A new group of ‘health professionals' has this week joined the growing number of ‘societies’ and…
If you want to know about advances in the treatment of spinal cord injury don’t read any British newspaper or ask the BBC
Reading the reports about the new embryonic stem cell trial for spinal cord injury that have been all…
Christine MCafferty hoist on her own petard – full text of amended resolution on right to conscientious objection in lawful medical care
I recently blogged on the Council of Europe’s 7 October decision to throw out a resolution (see original…
Sir Michael Caine’s report of his father’s death is an opportunity to educate the public about what good palliative care can achieve
Sir Michael Caine (pictured) has revealed how he asked a doctor to help his terminally ill father to…
Some brief Christian reflections on infertility treatments to mark Robert Edward’s receiving the Nobel Peace prize in medicine
The decision to award the Nobel prize in medicine to Robert Edwards(pictured), the British scientist…
Humiliating defeat for Council of Europe pro-abortion activists who attempted to criminalise conscientious objection to abortion
You may not read about this in any British newspaper but, as reported on LifeSite News, an attempt to…
When you see a new pro-euthanasia doctors group given a media soapbox next week remember that they constitute a small vocal minority
A new pro-euthanasia group called Health Professionals for Change is due to be launched on 13 October…
Some of the public reaction to Virginia Ironside advocating smothering a suffering child was deeply disturbing
Many viewers watching BBC1’s religious programme Sunday Morning Live last weekend will have been shocked…
American scientists make new breakthrough in producing embryonic-like stem cells by ethical means but British media doesn’t notice
The NECN headline this week ‘Harvard scientists make huge stem cell discovery’, is one of over 1,400…
Nottingham hospital officials shoot themselves in the foot by proposing Gideon Bible ban
I gather that hospital officials at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust want to ban Gideon…
What the Sunday Telegraph doesn’t tell you about repeat abortions
I was quoted on the front page of the Sunday Telegraph this morning in an article reporting that 89 teenage girls aged 17 or under had had their third abortion last year. The article is accompanied by a strong editorial criticising government sex education policies and suggesting that we should actually be advocating sexual abstinence for teenagers […]
Three parent embryos? Calm down all!
The papers this morning are full of reports that researchers at Newcastle University have successfully produced ‘three parent’ embryos as a first step to preventing maternally transmitted mitochondrial disease. There are about 50 different known mitochondrial diseases which are passed on in genes coded by mitochondrial (as opposed to nuclear) DNA. They range hugely both […]
DPP guidelines due out soon – will they just be a licence for legalisation of assisted suicide by stealth?
Attempts in the House of Lords both in 2006 (Joffe) and 2009 (Falconer) failed to legalise assisted suicide in this country. The medical profession (BMA and Royal Colleges), faith groups and disability groups also remain firmly opposed to a change in the law. However we are now seeing fresh attempts to change the law in […]
Dog bloggers, MPs expenses, abandoned wheelchairs and an Old Testament prophet
The Cambridgeshire police recently failed to respond to a 999 call about a teenager who was being beaten up with a baseball bat – allegedly because they were short-staffed. But they could still afford to maintain a German Shepherd puppy called Lukas who writes a blog. Judge Sean Enright said the police response ‘smacked of […]
Margo MacDonald MSP is seriously misleading the Scottish People and Parliament
Margo MacDonald claims that about 50 Scots a year would die if her ‘end of life assistance’ bill were to be enacted. She makes this remarkable claim on the basis that experience in the few countries where assisted death has been legalised shows that it accounts for only one in every 2,000’ deaths – though, […]
The government needs to invest more in cord blood
More than two years ago CMF welcomed a new bill which encouraged the donation at childbirth of umbilical cord blood and its storage for public use. It also called on the government to invest more actively in developing the NHS cord stem cell bank. MP David Burrowes’ Umbilical Cord Blood (Donation) Bill aimed to increase […]
Helping Haiti
Following the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday 12 January, causing tragic loss of life and massive destruction, CMF members have been asking how they should respond to this disaster. The UK Department of Health reports that the initial acute medical response is now well underway with 14 field hospitals, one US hospital ship […]
The brain is like a muscle – use it or lose it
Some years ago on a trip to India I shared a room with a doctor at a Christian Medical Conference in New Delhi where we were both speaking. He was a travelling evangelist and Bible teacher from Kerala who had put many long train trips to good use by memorising Scripture and could tell you […]
DPP guidance on prosecutions for assisted suicide comes in for serious criticism
On 30 July the Law Lords, ruling on the Debbie Purdy case, required the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keir Starmer (pictured) to publish the facts and circumstances he would take into account in deciding whether to bring a prosecution under the Suicide Act. Under the Suicide Act 1961 assisting with suicide carries a sentence […]
Global warming is much more about per capita consumption than population
In February Jonathon Porritt, chairman of the UK Government’s Sustainable Development Commission, said that curbing population growth through contraception and abortion must be at the heart of efforts to combat global warming, and that couples who had more than two children were irresponsible. This idea – that our planet is heating up as a result […]
Goats and kitchen sinks for Christmas
Some friends told me this week that they had given each of their children a £50 allowance this year to buy Christmas gifts for people living in developing countries. Their kids had grasped the opportunity with both hands, putting careful thought into their purchases, and even adding some of their own savings in an effort […]
Climate Change, Population and Health
At the time of writing, the Copenhagen Climate Change Talks are about to happen, and much comment in the media suggests that the chances of a meaningful agreement on curbing emissions rests on whether the West can persuade India, China, Brazil and much of the developing world to sign up. At the same time, reports […]