Printed from: https://archive.cmf.org.uk/resources/publications/content/?context=issue&id=132
I boarded the train, laptop in rucksack, ready to start this article on the public consultation by the Department of Health (DoH) on a review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFE Act). As I got on, a wry smile came to my lips. The train was called Charles...
A farmer went to sow some seed. Some fell on a path and was eaten by birds, some fell on infertile soil, some fell among thorns, and some fell on good soil, reaping a bountiful harvest. We are all familiar with the story,[1] but how does it relate to us...
Conscientious objection arises within medicine when a doctor's conscience runs counter to a legal and socially accepted medical practice. This usually relates to 'controversial' practices, such as abortion, euthanasia, the morning after pill and certain contraceptives. It is expressed predominantly (though not exclusively) by those with religious convictions. For the...
Human rights are chiefly concerned with setting limits on what governments can and cannot do to their citizens. The concept of rights for certain people is not new; it was seen in Roman times and in documents such as the Magna Carta (1215). However, in the aftermath of the Second...
The Bible is the written Word of God in which we find Christ. We can read, study, pray through and meditate upon it. However, it can also be memorised with great benefit. The day after I became a Christian (in 1953!), a friend gave me a small booklet by the...
Christians can sometimes be rather blasé about reading a passage of Scripture and then applying it loosely (and perhaps wrongly). Constant change in the meaning of words is only one of the difficulties plaguing modern translators of the Bible. Do you deploy the ancient word, or do you change it...
There are so many varied and exciting opportunities at medical school and only seven days in a week: it’s hard to decide what to do and what not to do. As we consider possible career paths the choices are equally vast and it’s difficult to know how to make a...
University life holds many distractions for Christians. Even things that may be blessings or opportunities can readily become our idols. I have certainly fallen short many times. Personal ambition (or fortune) is only one example – sadly all too common among Christian medics. Someone at my church remarked at housegroup...
The clinical scenario here is at the interface between general practice and the Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB). It is important gently to probe patients who present with symptoms of anxiety or depression to ascertain the root cause of their troubles. The GP should avoid prescribing in a ‘one size fits...
Joffe bill set to return 75 members of the House of Lords spoke during a nine hour debate on the Select Committee’s report on Lord Joffe’s Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill on 10 October. The report, released in April this year, was the result of nine months of deliberations...
