Doctors across the UK have been told not to call pregnant women “expectant mothers”, in case they offend transsexual people.
Official guidance, issued by the British Medical Association, instructs staff to use the term “pregnant people” instead.
The advice, sent to 160,000 NHS staff in hospitals and general practice, says that the word “mother” should be dropped during pregnancy, to avoid causing offence and help ‘celebrate diversity’.
’Pregnant people’
The Mail on Sunday uncovered a 14-page booklet called ‘A guide to effective communication: inclusive language in the workplace’.
It states that: “A large majority of people that have been pregnant or have given birth identify as women” and that “there are some intersex men and trans men who may get pregnant”.
It adds: “We can include intersex men and trans men who may get pregnant by saying ‘pregnant people’ instead of ‘expectant mothers’.”
Transsexual patients
The booklet also tells doctors to avoid using the terms ‘born woman’, ‘born man’, “biologically male” and “biologically female” when referring to transsexual patients.
Instead, they are instructed to say the patient was “assigned” or “designated” male or female at birth.
An introduction to the guidance, by a senior member of the BMA, says: “I would encourage you all to read and share this guide, and think about how you can apply it in your day-to-day work.”
Delusion
Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Christian Institute, Simon Calvert, said:
“It’s one thing for an individual to suffer from a delusion that they are trapped in the wrong body. That deserves compassion.
“But it’s quite another thing for the BMA to wilfully go along with it, and even worse for them to try to force others to go along with it.”
’Assault’
The move was described as an “assault on womanhood” by feminist Julie Bindel.
In an article for the Mail Online, she said: “The BMA is one of the many institutions now fearful of acknowledging the realities of the biological differences between the sexes, at the risk of offending transgender people.”
She added that “many women are angry and upset about the erasure of their identities”.
Undermining mothers
Columnist Sarah Vine also spoke out saying the BMA guidance “suggests the process of becoming a mother is little more than a social construct, a mere cultural convention that can be overturned on a whim.
“And that being a woman, with all this entails, is something that can be reduced to a lifestyle choice.”
A recent BBC documentary highlighted the dangers of endorsing the view that people can be ‘trapped in the wrong body’.
BBC documentary
‘Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best?’ uncovered how transsexual activists in Canada have sought to enforce their radical agenda through accusations of ‘transphobia’ towards opponents.
It included the story of Lou, who said she was pressured into taking puberty blockers, then sex change hormones, and finally having major surgery aged 20.
She told the BBC: “I was very much told by the community that if you don’t transition, you will self-harm and you will kill yourself. I became convinced that my options were transition or die”.
She received death threats after sharing her story online and is now deemed ‘transphobic’.