Maternity Services: Sex
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to review NHS communications to ensure that language on (a) pregnancy and (b) breast feeding reflects biological sexes.
Answered by Karin Smyth
We are committed to working with NHS England to ensure health communications are as clear as possible and appropriately reflect sex as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010. This includes communications about pregnancy and breast feeding.
In April, in its judgment in the case of For Women Scotland Ltd v. The Scottish Ministers, the Supreme Court announced that it had reached a unanimous decision that the terms ‘man’, ‘woman’, and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex. We welcome the clarity this brings.
We recognise that there will be occasions when National Health Service providers want to specifically acknowledge patients with differing characteristics, including the transgender community. This may mean that trusts and providers decide to use additive language, for example “women and trans men”, to ensure health communications reach the largest audience.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →