Author: Dr Antony Lempert
The state mustn’t allow children to die for their stated religious beliefs
Posted: Thu, 26 Nov 2020 by Dr Antony Lempert
As the High Court considers whether to let a girl from a Jehovah's Witness community refuse blood transfusions, Dr Antony Lempert says the precedent of overriding a child's refusal of lifesaving treatment should be upheld. Read More »
The BMA’s opportunity to rethink its position on assisted dying
Posted: Fri, 23 Oct 2020 by Dr Antony Lempert
The British Medical Association's opposition to assisted dying is at odds with its members' views. There's now a chance for the BMA and parliamentarians to stand up to religious obstructionism, says Dr Antony Lempert. Read More »
Religious campaigners shouldn't be able to veto the refusal of treatment
Posted: Mon, 15 Jun 2020 by Dr Antony Lempert
Christian campaigners have questioned a ruling that allowed a severely ill man to die. Dr Antony Lempert says they're misrepresenting the case – and patients' views are significant when determining their best interests. Read More »
Northern Ireland’s new abortion guidelines are welcome but should have gone further
Posted: Fri, 27 Mar 2020 by Dr Antony Lempert
As the government publishes a framework for the extension of abortion rights in NI, Dr Antony Lempert welcomes politicians' belated willingness to defend women's right to choose but laments several missed opportunities. Read More »
Can chaplaincy ever be fit for the 21st century?
Posted: Mon, 02 Mar 2020 by Dr Antony Lempert
A report highlighting the institutional bias towards Christianity in NHS chaplaincy services should prompt us to ask whether taxpayers should fund chaplaincy in the health service at all, says Dr Antony Lempert. Read More »
The medical profession should protect all children from unnecessary genital cutting
Posted: Thu, 05 Dec 2019 by Dr Antony Lempert
Doctors in Britain should follow the lead of those who have declared ritual male circumcision a breach of medical ethics, argues Dr Antony Lempert. Read More »
Doctors who favour legalisation of assisted dying deserve a hearing
Posted: Thu, 04 Jul 2019 by Dr Antony Lempert
As more doctors' groups consult their members on assisted dying and parliament debates the issue, Dr Antony Lempert says the challenge to the status quo, which is propped up by religious interests, is welcome. Read More »
The BMA’s genital cutting guidance is a disturbing departure from evidence-based, patient-centred policy making
Posted: Wed, 27 Feb 2019 by Dr Antony Lempert
The body which represents doctors has missed the opportunity to take a stand against medically unnecessary child circumcision in its new guidance on the subject, says Dr Antony Lempert. Read More »
The NHS’s pastoral support shouldn’t be based on religiosity
Posted: Fri, 11 Jan 2019 by Dr Antony Lempert
Moves to introduce humanist chaplaincy services in some NHS hospitals paper over the cracks in a discriminatory service, Dr Antony Lempert argues. Read More »
Genital cutting and the laws of unintended consequences
Posted: Thu, 22 Nov 2018 by Dr Antony Lempert
This week's developments on ritual genital cutting in the US and Denmark highlight the need to adopt a consistent application of human rights principles for everybody, regardless of gender, argues Dr Antony Lempert.
International legal conventions and agreements... Read More »
How cutting cultures deny dissenters their voice and identity
Posted: Fri, 23 Feb 2018 by Dr Antony Lempert
As Icelandic lawmakers consider whether to ban cutting infants' genitals for non-medical reasons, Dr Antony Lempert reflects on the ferocious backlash to the proposal in the UK.
This week non-therapeutic childhood male circumcision has hit the UK headlines... Read More »
Abortion ruling is a missed opportunity to recognise the disparity in women’s reproductive health rights across the UK
Posted: Thu, 15 Jun 2017 by Dr Antony Lempert
Ensuring that NHS abortion services are made available, free of charge, to UK citizens travelling from Northern Ireland would be a way of mitigating the harm caused by a disparity in women's reproductive health rights across the UK, argues Dr Antony Lempert.... Read More »
A judge’s decision to separate a transgender parent from her Jewish Orthodox children was deeply misguided
Posted: Fri, 10 Feb 2017 by Dr Antony Lempert
The decision to separate a transgender parent from her children gets to the heart of why faith-based harm is perpetuated and is frequently unchallenged, writes Dr Antony Lempert of the Secular Medical Forum.
A recent ruling in the Family Court of Manchester... Read More »
Forced cutting of young boys’ genitals violates the most fundamental medical ethics
Posted: Mon, 24 Oct 2016 by Dr Antony Lempert
Too often those who carry out forced cutting of young boys' genitals escape with gentle admonishment, rather than punishment commensurate with the severity of their actions, writes Dr Antony Lempert of the Secular Medical Forum.
In 2013, Dr Hassan Abdulla,... Read More »
Channel 4’s Dispatches reveals intimidating tactics of US-inspired anti-abortion campaigners
Posted: Thu, 06 Oct 2016 by Dr Antony Lempert
Dr Antony Lempert of the Secular Medical Forum reacts to Channel 4 Dispatches' programme that showed the shock tactics UK anti-abortion campaigners are importing from America.
This week's Channel 4's Dispatches, presented by Cathy Newman, went undercover among... Read More »
Ritual circumcision: religious rights of parents are at odds with the best interests of the child
Posted: Fri, 06 Jul 2012 by Dr Antony Lempert
By Dr Antony Lempert, Secular Medical Forum
On 26th June a district court in Cologne made a landmark ruling that parents do not have the right to circumcise their children without a medical reason.
The case centred on a 4 year old boy who was circumcised by... Read More »
