Government to Tell UK General Medical Council That ‘Women Are Women’

Nurses changing their PPE on Ward 5, a COVID Red Ward, at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Scotland, on Jan. 27, 2021. Jane Barlow/PA

The government will tell the General Medical Council (GMC) that “women are women” after it removed the words “mother” and “women” from its internal guidance for pregnant or menopausal staff.

In a House of Lords discussion on Tuesday, Labour peer Baroness Dianne Hayter of Kentish Town, questioned the GMC’s decision. She asked whether it reflects the GMC’s advice to doctors as to how to treat and describe patients.

Health Minister Lord Markham told the peers that he would talk to the GMC about the importance of using “correct language” and the “clear feelings” of the peers on the matter.

He said that while the government hasn’t had any discussions on the GMC’s internal guidance, it was clear about “addressing women as women and men as men.”

The GMC is a public body that maintains the register of medical practitioners in the UK. It decides which doctors are qualified to work in Britain, oversees medical training and is responsible for preventing unsafe practice.

Baroness Diane said that the GMC has a statutory duty and is meant to maintain public confidence.

“I wonder how many mothers would have confidence in a doctor who thinks that men can have babies,” she told the House.

In response to the peers’ concerns, Lord Markham said that the government is taking the matter “very seriously.”

“We want to make sure it is very clear in the NHS constitution that we are referring to women as women—that has to be the absolute primary descriptor—and men as men,” Lord Markham told the House.

He referred to the recent announcement by Health Secretary Steve Barclay.

In his party conference speech on Oct. 3, Mr. Barclay said that the government will change the NHS constitution to “recognise the importance of different biological needs and protect the rights of women.”

This will address concerns about trans women using wards intended for biologically female patients. The move would offer the same for male-only wards and trans men. The health secretary confirmed he will open a consultation on the changes.

The Royal College of Nursing responded by saying that Mr. Barclay was “courting controversy at the expense of people’s health and good care.”

The LGBT charity Stonewall said the government’s approach was “unworkable” and will “restrict access to health for trans women.”

Different Language

Mr. Barclay has ordered a reversal of NHS website changes that “erased references to women for conditions such as cervical cancer.”

The NHS faced backlash over updating its websites with gender-inclusive language in the past years.

For example, current advice on cervical cancer reads, “All women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64 are invited for regular cervical screening.”

The Conservative Party’s view on the issue was reaffirmed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. He argued that patients should know when hospitals are talking about men or women.

“And we shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. They can’t; a man is a man and a woman is a woman. That’s just common sense,” the prime minister told the Conservative Party conference on Oct. 4.

The peers acknowledged that all patients, including a “relatively tiny number of trans men giving birth each year,” deserved to be treated with respect and dignity.

In cases where there might be a change of sex, the government is clear that a description of “people with a cervix” can be used.

A Conservative peer, Lord Sandhurst, argued that it was “unacceptable” to refer to female staff as “chest feeders or people with cervixes.”

“The GMC may be independent but it is a creature of statute and should remember that. Parliament can change its statutes at any time,” he added.