Legislative Definition of Sex
Debate between George Howarth and Andrew Lewer(10 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Andrew Lewer
That is exactly right, and it is why this clarity is needed. Here is another quote from BMA guidance:
“A patient does not have a right to know if a healthcare worker has a gender different to the sex they were assigned at birth.”
In other words, the patient has no right to know whether the person treating them is the same sex as them. That is heartless beyond words. We are talking about a woman who may be worrying about serious illness and is feeling exposed and vulnerable. Professional bodies are instructing healthcare providers to gaslight her. They are saying that it is perfectly fine for a man to touch her unclothed private parts when she has refused that, because of how he identifies. As the hon. and learned Member for Edinburgh South West (Joanna Cherry) said, it is more than heartless, it is illegal. If a man provides such care to a woman who says that she is only willing to receive it from another woman, it is a sexual assault.
Have we reached the point where medical associations are instructing care providers to sexually assault women in the name of inclusion? That is why it is essential that the meaning of sex in the Equality Act is made much clearer, in order to end this and save lives.
Sir George Howarth (in the Chair)
Order. The hon. Gentleman has exceeded the time limit. Can he give one line by way of a conclusion before I move to the next speaker?