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When I was a final year medical student a baby was admitted onto the paediatric surgical ward with duodenal atresia. A relatively straightforward operation would have saved her but, because she had Down's Syndrome, her parents opted not to treat. She was left alone in a side room, given large...
The battle over stem cells intensified throughout 2004 becoming a major issue in the US election won by Republican George Bush on 4 November. Much of the controversy centred around different views on the status of the human embryo, and the fact that embryos have to be created and destroyed...
Have you ever been embarrassed by the miracles in the Bible? Have you winced at the thought of defending them before your medical colleagues? How about the account of creation,[2] the ten plagues of the Exodus,[3] the day the sun stood still,[4] or perhaps some of the healing miracles of...
The Human Genetics Commission's consultation Choosing the Future: Genetics and reproductive decision-making[1] closed on 15 November 2004. The consultation covers a variety of issues including designer babies, preimplantation diagnosis, prenatal screening and genetic counselling. The HGC will report to ministers in 'late 2005'.[2] CMF's full submission is available on our...
The Mental Capacity Bill,[1] which gives full statutory force to advance refusals of food and fluids, passed its third reading in the House of Commons on 14 December 2004 by a majority of 354 to 118 amidst huge controversy about it bringing in 'back-door euthanasia'.[2] The government employed a three-line...
If, like me, you returned from a summer break to bulging in-trays, looming deadlines and a host of competing personal and professional pressures let me encourage you through what God is doing amongst Christian doctors worldwide. This summer our own family holiday was sandwiched between two ICMDA (International Christian Medical and...
One of CMF’s aims is ‘to promote Christian values, especially in bioethics and healthcare…’ and to this end we issue press releases and contribute to government consultations.[1,2] We are currently awaiting the Government’s response to three consultations, all of which closed over the summer. The Department of Health’s Choosing Health? consultation...
The Gender Recognition Bill has completed its Parliamentary process and will become law next year. Under its provisions a Gender Recognition Panel will have responsibility for issuing new birth certificates for transsexual people. The Bill proposes a potential legal threat to churches, Christian organisations and sports clubs who may be...
The long awaited Mental Incapacity Bill, now repackaged as the Mental Capacity Bill, was finally published on 18 June, and is to be accompanied by a Code of Practice that is still being developed. It seeks to provide for decision-making on behalf of people with mental incapacity and is the...
The February announcement[1] that South Korean Scientists had cloned 30 human embryos generated the media frenzy and overhyped predictions we have come to expect in this area of research. But the true facts were less impressive. The team at Seoul National University used 242 eggs from 16 women donors; from...
