Headlines
‘Now is the time to draw the line’ – Public Meetings
On Wednesday 6th February a public meeting is taking place at which speakers will inform attendees about today’s life issues and the HFE Bill currently going through Parliament. Those speaking include Lord Alton, Anne Widdecombe MP, Jim Dobbin MP, Nola Leach (CARE) and Dr Peter Saunders (Christian Medical Fellowship).
The meeting is taking place at 7pm at Central Hall, Westminster, SW1 and admission is free. Doors open at 6.15pm. Please call 01925 220999 or 0203 176 0032 for more information.
Similar events are taking place elsewhere throughout February and March. Please see the list below for your nearest venue:
The following events start at 7.30pm
Tues 12th February - Liverpool
The Liner Hotel, Lord Nelson Street
Wed 13th February - Coventry
Coventry Cathedral
Monday 18th February - Widnes
The Foundry, Lugsdale Road
Tues 4th March - Cardiff
The City Temple, Cowbridge Road East
Hybrid embryo test rejected by Lords
On Monday 4th February the House of Lords rejected another amendment designed to curb the use of hybrid animal-human embryos. The amendment, known as the ‘Hunt test’ and moved by Baroness Williams of Crosby, required researchers to show there were no viable alternatives to using hybrid embryos before they could be granted a licence. The amendment was rejected by 41 to 197.
‘Taking God out of Advancing Religion’ - Charity Law Seminar
What is the history of charity law? How is it being updated? How is God being taken out of advancing religion? Do religious charities have anything to fear?
These questions and more will be answered at our upcoming charity law seminar, taking place on Monday 11th February at the offices of Lovells, Atlantic House, 50 Holborn Viaduct (nearest tube is St Pauls). Refreshments are available from 6.15 and the evening will end about 8pm. Admission is free and all are welcome. Solicitor’s CPD points are available.
In the last days and weeks there has been a lot of press coverage over life issues and matters raised by the HFE Bill. Articles cover issues such as the increasing survival rate of premature babies, NHS payment to surrogate mothers and sperm cells being created from a female embryo. To browse all the latest media stories please go to the ‘In the press’ page on our website: http://www.ccfon.org/media.php
Euthanasia case – man spared jail
On February 1st 2008, Robert Cook was given a twelve month sentence of imprisonment suspended for two years, after he helped his terminally ill wife die by suffocating her after she had taken an overdose. Mr Cook pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility. Mrs Cook, who had expressed her wish to die, suffered from depression and multiple sclerosis. Her husband of twenty nine years wanted to help her to end her life.
Vanessa Cook was an example of one of the most vulnerable people in our society. Yet the answer was not for her husband to take the law into his own hands by helping her to die. The law is there to protect and to respect an individual’s God-given life. Hard cases, like Mr Cook’s, and others before his, only make bad law.
In May 2006, Lord Joffe’s bill for assisted dying, which would effectively have legalised physician assisted suicide, was defeated in the House of Lords by 148 to 100 votes. However, pro euthanasia organisations such as Voluntary Euthanasia Society (rebranded as Dignity in Dying) continue to campaign for a change in the law through these sorts of cases. Christians need to continue to uphold the biblical teaching about the sanctity of life at the end of life, and show true compassion by promoting good palliative care for those who suffer from terminal illnesses.
The Times, “Forget a new euthanasia law”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/mick_hume/article3308471.ece
Media Link: BBC One, Big Questions: Dr Rob George in euthanasia debate