Printed from: https://archive.cmf.org.uk/resources/publications/content/?context=issue&id=6065
Time for private abortion providers to be accountable Review by Philippa Taylor CMF Head of Public Policy A Government consultation on the collection of national statistics on abortion may seem like a dry and uncontroversial topic. However, it has provided CMF with an opportunity to highlight an...
Martin Scott-Brown remembers Millie and the blessing her short life brought. 'There's no easy way to tell you, so I'll just tell you straight. Your child has Holoprosencephaly.' (1) This may not be the textbook way to deliver bad news but the words from the consultant obstetrician at our 20...
A compassionate response to the abortion debate Christine Scott tells of her involvement with a local crisis pregnancy centre. Abortion causes disquiet. As a GP I have listened to many women in troubling and difficult circumstances, and merely referring them to an abortion clinic or a colleague in the practice...
Philippa Taylor assesses the costs of screening for Down's. In 1992 it was predicted that no more than 60% of all women would take up antenatal screening for Down's syndrome and, with more older mothers giving birth, there would be an increase in the number of affected births. (1) How...
John Wenham tells how beginning to fast triggered radical change. It was June 2011. I had been reading a copy of Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline. The chapters on praying and giving had been satisfying as I recognised these as areas that I had spent plenty of time working on....
Being a servant leader in the NHS Nick Land on how the Christian faith informs attitudes to work and leadership. When I became medical director the response of some colleagues was 'So, you've gone over to the dark side.' Some of this came from within the Trust; a lot more came from...
Huw Morgan questions the way we think about working overseas. How do Christian doctors know if they're called to work overseas? This question is often discussed amongst Christian medics and various aspects of what constitutes 'a call' are debated. I want to suggest that this is the wrong question. It sidesteps...
Catriona Waitt and Abi Randall found short-term work overseas is as much about being as doing. keypoints Providing relief for a longterm worker is a valuable service. Taking children along can be a blessing, not a burden. Imaginative use of leave and holiday can free up time to go....
20 true stories of faith changing lives today John Sentamu Darton, Longman and Todd, 2013 £8.99 Pb 160pp ISBN 9780232529784 20 brief life stories in 135 pages – almost all from the North East of England – all from an Anglican background of varied churchmanship – nine of them...
The Lancet eats humble pie At long last The Lancet has confessed it got Dr John Snow wrong. Snow, famous for finding the cause of cholera, found a foe in Thomas Wakley, founding-editor of The Lancet, who in an 1855 editorial dismissed Snow's work in no uncertain terms: 'In riding...
Dominic Beer, consultant psychiatrist and pioneer in psychiatric intensive care, who served CMF fruitfully for over 20 years, died on 19 April 2013 aged 56. Medicine Dominic went to Wadham College, Oxford in 1975 to study German and History, but even then was considering medicine. Discovering that having no science A-levels...
GP Mary Wren reflects on becoming a patient. From the moment you walk in the door it's as if something changes. You are now part of a surreal world of gowns, tubes, paper knickers and loss of control. Just 24 hours after working in the GP surgery myself, I am tied...
Mental Illness, Stigma and The Church Cathy Wield Instant Apostle, 2012 £8.00 Pb 200pp ISBN 9780955913525 A good book to buy for yourself, or for someone whose family member or friend is struggling with mental illness. But don't be too quick to buy it for...
A Christian Perspective Rosemary Morgan Bible Reading Fellowship, 2013 £7.99 Pb 144pp ISBN 9780857460837 The key to this book is, unsurprisingly, in its title. Having read several books on infertility that focused on treatments and options available, and the rights and wrongs of each, I was half expecting the...
Grace and healing for anorexia Emma Scrivener IVP, 2012 £7.99 Pb 176pp ISBN 9781844745869 A beautifully written autobiographical account, this book lifts the lid on the inner turmoil of anorexia in a manner which is highly illuminating and frankly terrifying. With great honesty Emma...
Keeping a biblical perspective Last year 'Christians in Parliament', an official All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) chaired by Gary Streeter MP, launched an inquiry called 'Clearing the Ground', which was tasked with considering the question: 'Are Christians marginalised in the UK?' The inquiry was facilitated by the Evangelical Alliance (1) and the...
Why STI rates continue to rise Review by Trevor Stammers Programme Director in Bioethics and Medical Law, London Public Health England (PHE) has released figures showing the highest annual levels of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). (1) There were 448,422 recorded hospital clinic diagnoses – a rise of 5%...
Global malnutrition is becoming an epidemic Review by Steve Fouch CMF Head of Allied Professions Ministries. It is sobering that in the 21st Century we still face a malnutrition epidemic affecting millions. In 2011, according to recently published figures in The Lancet, (1) 3.1 million under-fives died from...
Renewed pressure to change the law must be resisted Review by Peter Saunders CMF Chief Executive The relentless pressure to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia continues unabated in Britain. The Court of Appeal hearing of two cases of locked-in syndrome (Nicklinson and 'Martin') on 13- 16 May was...
