News Briefing: from Britain and Ireland

‘Talk about faith to the dying’
Hospital staff should be more upfront about talking about faith to patients who are dying, as part of their end-of-life care plans, according to new research from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).

The second national audit, following one in 2014, reported that nearly half of all deaths over the audit period occurred in hospital, and there was considerable variation among health trusts when talking about religion to a patient or nominated representative. In some, 60-100 per cent of staff addressed faith in the last episode of care, while in others under 20 per cent did so.  

Sam Ahmedzai, an emeritus professor of palliative medicine and member of the Nice quality standard committee, said: “Control of pain and other distressing symptoms is very important for dying people, but good end of life care … includes asking about the dying person’s spiritual, cultural, religious and social preferences. Only by attending to these issues can we deliver truly individualised care for each person and those important to them.”

Pro-life campaigners, MPs and midwives have spoken out against the “extreme position” of a potential bill that would seek to further decriminalise abortion. Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull North, Diana Johnson (above), is due to table the Abortion (Decriminalisation): Ten Minute Rule Bill to make the case to allow her to introduce her new bill on 13 March.

Its opponents claim that by making abortion a non-legal issue, there would be nothing to stop on-demand sex-selective and late-term abortions going ahead. Campaign group Not in Our Name warned that abortion pills could be easily accessed through mail order, and even given out by school nurses. Ms Johnson said the bill was not an attempt to extend the upper term limit, rather a bid to make abortion a medical and health issue, rather than a legal one.

Currently women can be criminally punished for not meeting abortion criteria, such as having two doctors agree the woman or unborn child’s welfare would be at risk if the abortion is not performed, as the 1967 Abortion Act requires.

In a House of Lords debate over the final Brexit deal the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said Britain feels like the most divided country he has lived in. He opposed a second referendum because it would “add to our divisions”.

School campaigners lose fight
A campaign by parents to save the only Catholic primary school in an East Dunbartonshire town has failed. An SNP proposal that would have blocked funding for a merger between St Joseph’s in Milngavie and St Andrew’s in nearby Bearsden was defeated by a Labour and Conservative majority. Local groups are exploring the possibility of keeping St Joseph’s open as a community school, directly funded by Holyrood, but the Scottish Government has given a go-ahead for the merger.

Roehampton University marked International Women’s Day on 8 March by “livestreaming” a conference about women and the Church from the Vatican. “Stirring the Waters: Making the Impossible Possible”, organised by Voices of Faith, featured women speakers from around the world.

Roehampton’s Digby Stuart College is due to host a conference “Promoting the Voices of Women” on Saturday 8 April, with guest speakers including Ursula Halligan, political editor at TV3 Ireland, and former Tablet editor Catherine Pepinster.

A Catholic MP who appeared at a Commons select committee meeting on Ash Wednesday wearing a cross on her forehead has defended her decision not to remove it despite the session being broadcast. Carol Monaghan (pictured), who holds the Glasgow North West seat for the SNP, said of colleagues who warned her about the broadcast: “I think they just thought I didn’t want to be embarrassed, but I was not going to rub it off.” Ms Monaghan pointed out that many religions used publicly displayed symbols of religious affiliation, but said that many of those she encountered on Ash Wednesday were not aware what the ashes represented.

Abortion licence call
Pro-life charity Life is writing to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (above) to call for Marie Stopes International’s licence to provide abortions to be revoked and the Abortion Act to be reviewed following a report by the Daily Mail. The newspaper claimed that Marie Stopes call-centre workers assured callers they didn’t have to see doctors to be assessed on whether they qualified for an abortion in conversations as brief as 22 seconds. Life’s education director, Anne Scanlan, said: “It is the duty of the Government to protect agencies funded by the public purse, from profiting off the plight of women.”

Paul McPartlan, managing director at Marie Stopes UK, said: “The conclusions this journalist has reached give a seriously misleading view of how our services operate.”

Last August Marie Stopes was investigated by healthcare watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Mr McPartlan said: “We are proud of the improvements we’ve made … and recognise that there will always be more to do … We will be exploring legal action.”

The remains of Tasmania’s first Catholic bishop have returned to Hobart, more than 150 years after his death in Nottingham in 1866. Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart was present when Bishop Robert Willson’s remains arrived last week. “It was his request and expectation that he would be coming back,” Archbishop Porteous said.