British Section of the World Federation of Doctors Who Respect Human Life

"Up to 6,000 people die unnecessarily every year in Britain because of lack of specialist stroke care," The Times reported on 24 July 02, following the publication of an audit by the Royal College of Physicians. "Only 36 per cent of stroke patients spent any time at all in a stroke unit, despite evidence that -death -and disablement are reduced by more than a quarter as a result of specialist treatment.

"..One in five patients was not receiving a brain scan and 10 percent who should have been prescribed aspirin or similar drugs were not."

A letter to the Daily Telegraph (9 Aug 02) from a former auxiliary nurse reported: "Stroke victims are left without food or water while they wait three weeks for their "gag reflex" to be assessed by speech therapists."

Dr. Denis Daley, MD, FRCP, was also quoted in the Catholic Herald, (30 Aug 02): "Overall it seems to me that the advice regarding artificial nutrition and hydration offered by the GMC in this document represents a major step in the direction of the principle of euthanasia and that professional life for a 'pro-life' doctor is likely to be increasingly stressful and dispiriting."

Dr. Gregory Gardner, Vice-Chairman of the Medical Ethics Alliance, wrote (Catholic Herald, 13 Sept 02): "One useful concession which has been obtained was that junior doctors conscientiously opting out should not be made responsible for finding a replacement" This incredible suggestion was made in the previous GMC draft. It was taken out after Dr. Brian Iddon MP. had held a meeting for ALERT in Portcullis House which was addressed by Dr. Tony Cole, Chair of the Medical Ethics Alliance, and Dr. Jacqueline Laing. A resolution was passed which Dr. Iddon sent to the Press and to a meeting of the GMC then being held. Mr. Kevin Barron, MP, a lay member of the GMC, reported on the concession to a parliamentary debate in Westminster Hall, which had been initiated by Dr. Iddon, two days later. The Daily Telegraph reported the debate ("Assisted deaths are creeping up on us," 23 May 02). Note: Conscientious nurses may have a hard time. The address of Nurses Opposed to Euthanasia (chaired by Teresa Lynch) is 168 Earls Court Road, London SW5 9QQ

Dr. Fiona Smith, a G. P. who woke from coma after a car crash, in now suing the hospital where she was first treated, for allegedly advising her family to switch off her life support, as she had no chance of recovery. Instead she was moved to a hospital run by the Daughters of Charity and woke up after three weeks. (The Scotsman, 5 Sept 02, and Daily Telegraph, 6 Sept 02).

She may also challenge the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act, which allows the ending of patients" lives, on the grounds that it conflicts with the Human Rights Act. Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which was emphasised by European judges in the Diane Pretty case, states that everyone has the right to life, and this should be protected by law.

"The Catholic bishops of England and Wales have' issued a strongly worded contribution to the British Government's consultation process on its guidelines for dealing with incapacitated patients" (SPUC News 16 July 02). "There is concern that these guidelines (entitled "Making Decisions) constitute a step towards extending the practice of euthanasia by omission. The response issued by the English and Wales bishops' conference, together with the Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics, criticises the government for its interpretation of a patient's 'best interests' and its uncritical stance on present practice, including the provision of abortions for mentally disabled women and the deliberate killing of patients in persistent vegetative states."

It seems possible that a new Mental Incapacity Bill would legalise medical experiments on human subjects who cannot give informed consent, as in the Law Commission s original draft. The European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine allows this, if the subjects "do not object", which is why Germany is among the countries which have not signed it. It is apparently on the cards that Britain will now do so; responsibility for the decision has now been moved from the Foreign Office to the Lord Chancellor's Department.

The Pro-Life Times reported (July 02) "Tony Blair has raised the profile of his personal support for human embryo experiments in a speech to the. Royal Society, the country's leading scientific academy. Mr. Bair has pledged to make Britain "the best place in the world for stem cell research...

"Professor Neil Scolding, the Burden professor of clinical neurosciences at the University of Bristol, said "Britain could very easily be the best place in the world for stem cell research, and treatments depending on stem cells, by using adult stem cells. We can make scientific progress without compromising ethical standards."

The Medical Research Council is setting up the National Stem Cell Bank, to house both adult stem cells and those from human embryos. Nuala Scarisbrick, of LIFE, commented " We have to keep on saying one simple thing: these embryos are real living, human beings. This is the crucial, central fact"

Professor Smithells, who died on 13 Jun 02, was the much respected paediatrician involved in the thalidomide children s claim for compensation and thereafter with the Thalidomide Trust. Mr. Gerard Wright Q.C., who won their claim in court, recalls that when individual claims of damage from the drug were in doubt, Richard Smithell's assessments were accepted by both sides.

Another part of his work must have save many lives, and prevented much damage. The Times (13 Aug 02) recorded his research into links between poor nutrition and vitamin deficiency and conditions such as spina bifida and other malformations of the spine and brain. "His studies and a series of publications demonstrated the importance of vitamin supplements in the prevention of these conditions." He received the Kennedy Foundation International Award for this work in 2000.

His results were queried for many years by the Dept. of Health, which preferred search-and-destroy methods for preventing the birth of children with spina bifida.

SPUC News of 13 Sept 02 reports a Canadian study as showing that between 1995 and 1999 the number of unborn children aborted on account of neural tube defects decreased by 43%.

"The German Doctors' Association is protesting a decision of the German Federal Court which ordered a doctor to pay compensation to parents of a disabled child, after he failed to identify the existence of an impairment in the pre-natal screening" (Disability Tribune July 02). The G. D: A. stated : "The aim of medical treatment is to heal, alleviate or prevent illnesses and disabilities - not to kill the sick and disabled".