| Founded | 1949 |
|---|---|
| Location | Southwark, London, UK |
| Area served | International |
| Volunteers | 51 |
| Employees | 15 |
| Members | 4350 doctors, 980 medical students |
| Motto | "To unite Christian doctors and medical students in Christ." |
| Website | http://www.cmf.org.uk/ |
| Registered Charity number: 1039823 | |
The Christian Medical Fellowship (also known as CMF), founded in 1949, is an evangelical, interdenominational organisation that links together Christian doctors and medical students in the UK.
CMF's stated aims are "uniting Christian doctors", "supporting Christian medical students", "advancing Christian mission", "publishing Christian literature" and "promoting Christian values". The organisation publishes two journals, "Triple Helix" (doctors) and "Nucleus" (students), several smaller publications, and some books. CMF organises conferences on a local and national basis and promotes and supports Christian medical mission overseas.
CMF is linked to similar organisations in many countries through the International Christian Medical and Dental Association and the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship for its medical students.
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CMF regularly contributes to debate on issues of medical ethics, such as making submissions to the UK House of Lords enquiry into physician-assisted suicide, and generally promotes the Pro-Life case in ethical debates, including topics on abortion and euthanasia. In some of these activities, CMF works together with other faith-based and non-faith-based groups, such as the Care Not Killing Alliance and the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship.
Controversially, CMF publications from time to time consider issues such as the reality or otherwise of miraculous cures of disease and of demon possession, which is not a psychiatric or medical diagnosis recognised by either the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) or the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10)[1]. In such matters, CMF reflects the wider evangelical church in that some members believe miracles and demon possession to be real today, while others consider them 1st century descriptions of phenomena which are now better understood through science.
The position of the Christian Medical Fellowship has been to actively encourage doctors and medical students to use opportunites arising from the doctor-patient relationship to discuss faith with patients, and critics have complained that this amounts to proselytising and an abuse of the doctor's professional role[2]. In 2006 and 2007-8 two major submissions regarding the Christian Medical Fellowship and its activities encouraging proselytisation of patients were made jointly by a coalition of minority faith communities, interfaith and other organisations to the General Medical Council Standards and Ethics Committee. These submissions and other unrelated issues resulted in the new GMC ethical guidance for doctors prohibiting abuse of the doctor-patient relationship: "You must not express to your patients your personal beliefs, including political, religious or moral beliefs, in ways that exploit their vulnerability or that are likely to cause them distress", but also acknowledging that "Personal beliefs... are central to the lives of doctors and patients...For some patients, acknowledging their beliefs or religious practices may be an important aspect of a holistic approach to their care. Discussing personal beliefs may, when approached sensitively, help you to work in partnership with patients to address their particular treatment needs." [3][4].
The Christian Medical Fellowship has been the subject of complaint from minority faith communities, including a representation by several Hindu leaders to the House of Lords Select Committee on Religious Offences objecting to a claim that Hinduism was a 'false religion'[5].
The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement and the Gay and Lesbian Association of Dentists and Doctors have also strongly objected to the CMF's position against lesbian, gay and transgendered people, as expressed in a number of articles on the CMF website such as on "The Health Risks of Gay Sexual Relationships"[6]. CMF does not hold an official position on lesbian, gay and transgendered sexual orientations although it generally reflects a fairly conservative evangelical stance, considering sexual behaviour (homosexual or heterosexual) outside marriage to be sinful.
In October 2007, the Christian Medical Fellowship was accused by The Guardian newspaper of attempting to skew the balance of evidence presented at the Parliamentary review of the UK's laws on abortion due to a number of its members presenting evidence at the Parliamentary Select Committee without revealing their membership and seniority within the organisation. The members concerned stated that they were submitting evidence as individuals, not as representatives of CMF, and they declared their affiliation when asked to do so in an unusual step by the Committee[7][8].