6th December 2004: A 66 year old British woman with cerebellar ataxia has travelled to Zurich for physician assisted suicide. Mrs Z died there after a landmark case did not prevent her husband from accompanying her, as she was too ill...
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(published: bbc.co.uk 2004; 6 December, Guardian 2004; 4 December)

26th November 2004: The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), Britain’s leading abortion provider, has become the subject of controversy after a Telegraph exposé revealed that they have referred women to Spain for abortions after the UK legal limit of 24...
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(published: Telegraph 2004; 10 October, Guardian 2004; 25 November, bbc.co.uk 2004; 26 November)

25th November 2004: The government has promised £300 million over six years for the development of a new malaria vaccine. The disease kills two million people every year. Development of the vaccine, aimed mainly at malaria stricken countries in Africa, has been...
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(published: bbc.co.uk 2004; 25 November, Independent 2004; 15 October)

25th November 2004: Three UK health authorities have agreed to fund controversial 'saviour sibling' treatment on the NHS, with another eight or nine considering a similar move. The process will be used to treat children suffering mainly from genetic blood disorders. It...
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(published: Telegraph 2004; 25 November, Guardian 2004; 25 November, bbc.co.uk 2002; 20 December)

18th November 2004: A teenager who made national headlines by having an abortion at 14 years old without her mother's knowledge has become pregnant again. Melissa Smith, now 15, is determined to keep this baby, which is believed to have the same father....
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(published: Guardian 2004; 18 November, Telegraph 2004; 18 November, Times 2004; 23 October, Nucleus 2004; July:5)

16th November 2004: The government has pledged a healthier nation in its 'Choosing Health' white paper, which has targeted smoking, obesity and alcohol as well as sexual and mental health. Health secretary John Reid plans to cut the number of smokers in England...
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(published: bbc.co.uk 2004; 16 November)

12th November 2004: The High Court has given permission to doctors in separate cases to withhold life-saving resuscitation from two babies. Luke Winston-Jones, a nine-month old with Edwards' syndrome, has since died. Charlotte Wyatt, born at 26 weeks and suffering from severe lung...
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(published: bbc.co.uk 2004; 12 November, AFP 2004; 8 October, Times 2004; 8 October, Independent 2004; 8 October)

2nd November 2004: The Human Fertilitisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has granted a licence to a London clinic to screen embryos for an inherited form of bowel cancer. This landmark decision could lead to mass screening of embryos for genetic ...
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(published: BMJ 2004;329:1061, Guardian 2004; 2 November)

20th August 2004: A professor at the University of Minnesota has added fuel to the scandal about Abu-Ghraib prison in Iraq by highlighting evidence of United States medical personnel complying with demands for prisoners to be tortured. Steven Miles, writing a damning report in...
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(published: Lancet 2004;364:9435, bbc.co.uk 2004; 20 August)

2nd August 2004: The medical profession’s power and influence is under threat because of the rising number of female doctors, according to the President of the Royal College of Physicians, Professor Carol Black. In an interview with the Independent, Professor Black stated her belief...
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(published: bbc.co.uk 2004; 2 August, Independent 2004; 2 August)