The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, currently before Parliament, opens the 1967 Abortion Act up for amendment. The upper limit for socalled 'social abortion' was initially 28 weeks but was lowered to 24 weeks by the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. This change reflected improvements in neonatal care. More...
As a general surgical registrar I was once helping my consultant remove a giant spleen when the patient began 'hosing' from an invisible source. After a frenzy of clamping, cutting and ligating, things stabilised and we were able to proceed at a more leisurely pace. 'It's good to see the...
'40 years. 6.7 million abortions. Timefor change!' [1] This strap line brings together churches, professional bodies and pro-life organisations to mark on Saturday 27 October the 40th anniversaryof the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act. 6.7 million abortions. The numbers are staggering: more than the number of Jews who died...
The Human Tissue and Embryos Bill, expected to be introduced into Parliament after the Queen's Speech this November, will open up the entire 1967 Abortion Act to amendment. Pro-choice MPs have pledged to liberalise the law [1] and intend to mark the Act's 40th anniversary on 27 October with a...
In 2003 we considered abortion in CMF File 23, but we concentrate here on the consequences of abortion. It is timely to review these. First, the total number of abortions in the UK continues to rise, reaching the highest level ever in 2006 at 201,173 in England and Wales...
On 25 March 1807, two hundred years ago, the British Parliament finally voted to make slave trading illegal throughout the Empire. The film Amazing Grace graphically recounts how a disparate group of campaigners, led by William Wilberforce, caused an entire nation to confront its guilt and to act. The title...
Over the last ten years the British pro-euthanasia lobby has very effectively used high-profile 'hard cases' of motor neurone disease to champion its cause: Annie Lindsell, Reginald Crew, John Close and, most famously, Diane Pretty. She sought her husband's assistance in her suicide, and in 2002 took her case to...
Doctors are under great pressure. Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) will see 34,000 junior doctors applying for just 18,500 training posts, with many facing unemployment or migration. Changes in immigration laws have already seen tens of thousands of overseas doctors who have been uprooted from specialist training schemes having to return...
Most of our teachers were respected, and many were admired, but only a few were loved. I came to love Alan, because he gave me the greatest gift; integrating my medical practice into a framework of Christian morality. He taught me the expected surgical skills, but he was inspiring in...
Going slow to go fast Despite having lived in England since 1989, like most people born in New Zealand I am a keen supporter of the All Blacks rugby team and am hoping that 2007 will be the year when they manage to win the Rugby World Cup for the...