Charity faces backlash over claim ‘men can get ovarian cancer’

A medical charity has been accused of promoting misleading and “dangerous” information after claiming ‘men can get ovarian cancer’.

Hundreds of people took to X to criticise Ovarian Cancer Action after it posted that “anyone with ovaries, regardless of gender identity, can be at risk” for the disease.

The post was decorated with the LGBT ‘Rainbow flag’ and accompanied by the hashtags ‘Pride Month’ and ‘Ovarian Cancer Awareness’.

Public health concerns

Prominent gender critic Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull responded: “No, men cannot get ovarian cancer. Gender identity doesn’t get ovarian cancer, women’s bodies do.”

Campaign group For Women Scotland agreed, adding: “Oh, and you will damage trust. What cancer survivor will trust you now to speak the truth?”.

And Sonia Poulton, a journalist and broadcaster, warned: “This post is shamefully ideological and political. It is dangerously confusing.”

Did you know that anyone with ovaries, regardless of gender identity, can be at risk for ovarian cancer?

Let’s raise awareness by asking: can men get ovarian cancer? 🏳️‍🌈#PrideMonth #OvarianCancerAwareness pic.twitter.com/RsoXcjhAAw

— Ovarian Cancer Action (@OvarianCancerUK) June 4, 2024

Gender ideology

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, LGB Alliance Chief Executive Kate Barker branded the post “a powerful demonstration of why gender-identity ideology has no place in healthcare”.

Fiona McAnena, Director of Campaigns at Sex Matters, added that it was “dangerous, particularly when it comes to the health of women with learning difficulties or those who speak English as a second language”.

She concluded: “Public-health charities should use clear, sex-based language to communicate. The language of gender-identity ideology obfuscates the reality that sex matters in healthcare.”

NHS

The NHS recently came under fire for promoting a pregnancy app that asked mothers-to-be whether their gender is the same as “registered at birth”, and if they are “female”, “male”, “non-binary” or “gender fluid”.

Badger Notes, developed by System C, is an online system reportedly used to support 60 per cent of pregnancies in the UK.

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust has also been criticised for compelling staff to endorse radical gender ideology under its internal trans policy.

The guidance, introduced last year and set to run until 2026, directs staff to apologise for ‘misgendering’ patients who claim to be the opposite sex.