Time, or rather the lack of it, is a subject close to every medic's heart. Perhaps we laugh ruefully at Ecclesiastes' claim that 'there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.' (Ecclesiastes 3:1) If only! When you pause for breath, you might notice...
W hen Kirsty and I left New Zealand bound for Kapsowar Hospital in 1989, with two boys aged eight months and three years, we were planning to be 'career missionaries' in Africa. A taste of healthcare mission in the Kenyan highlands only intensified that desire and leaving home, friends and...
New draft guidance from the BMA allows doctors to withdraw food and fluids from non-imminently dying patients with dementia, stroke and brain injury, provided it is in their 'best interests'. (1),(2) It comes complete with a six-page executive summary, flow charts and tick box forms to smooth the decision-making process....
What do the current drives for assisted suicide, abortion on demand, same-sex marriage, transgenderism, robot rights and presumed consent for organ donation have in common? They are certainly all backed by 'progressive' secularists who occupy the corridors of power. But more specifically they are all based on a sub-Christian view...
Time, or rather the lack of it, is a subject close to every medic's heart. Perhaps we laugh ruefully at Ecclesiastes' claim that 'there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.' (1) If only. When you pause for breath, you might notice that...
The government has launched a public consultation, (1) on how to make it easier for transgender people in England and Wales to change their legal gender on their birth certificates. A similar consultation closed in Scotland in March, but has not yet reported. (2) Currently, under the Gender Recognition Act 2004...
Assisting or encouraging suicide remains a crime in Britain under the Suicide Act 1961. (1) But over the last 15 years there has been relentless pressure to change this from well-resourced lobby groups backed by powerful celebrity voices and sections of the British media. More than ten attempts to legalise assisted...
Christian doctors face extraordinary pressures - not only do we often feel asked to do the impossible with inadequate resources, but our own sense of duty can drive us to take on responsibilities that surpass our ability to cope. The prophet Elijah, after his victory over the prophets of Baal on...
I am struggling to think of a time when UK Christian doctors have faced greater advocacy challenges all at once. This is perhaps not surprising given the march of secular humanism through our parliaments, courts and institutions. I outline here five major areas of activity. Assisted suicide Given that eleven attempts in...