England’s NHS: ‘We are defining sex as biological sex’

“Sex” is a biological fact, says England’s National Health Service (NHS), as it prepares for what appears to be a landmark swing away from gender ideology in its written constitution.

The health service’s new governing document is expected to declare: “We are defining sex as biological sex,” the Telegraph reported Tuesday, referring to a proposed dramatic shift that follows the release of a final report in April by British pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass on the so-called “gender-affirming” approach to treating gender dysphoria in children.

Cass and an independent review team from the University of York found treating gender confusion with puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, to suppress signs of maturity in a child’s biological sex and advance characteristics of the opposite sex, is an approach based on “remarkably weak” evidence stemming from “poor quality of the published studies,” and “misinformation.”

The changes to the NHS constitution are expected to include a ban on males identifying as females from women’s-only hospital wards, and language shifts within the health service, such as the replacement of the terms “gender” with “sex,” “chestfeeding” with “breastfeeding,” and “people who give birth” with “women.” 

“Sex-specific” language within NHS will be emphasized following years when “references to women were expunged from advice on the menopause and diseases such as cervical and ovarian cancer,” observed the Telegraph. 

Maya Forstater, chief executive of the gender critical group Sex Matters, called the change a “return to common sense and an overdue recognition that women’s wellbeing and safety matter.” 

“Sex, of course, is a matter of biology, not identity, and it is welcome that the NHS is now spelling this out in relation to single-sex accommodation and intimate care,” Forstater added, noting that many healthcare providers “have become confused and frightened by the idea that a gender recognition certificate, or even just a personal identity claim, overrides other people’s rights when it comes to same-sex care from healthcare professionals.” 

The proposed changes in NHS’ constitution have arrived with pressure from women’s rights activists, medical authorities, including the Cass report, and an April letter to the Prime Minister from a coalition of 130 Members of Parliament (MPs), peers, doctors, psychiatrists and academics – demanding a public inquiry into the prevalence of gender ideology in schools and within NHS. 

The letter’s signers wrote of the dangers of treating gender dysphoria in children by encouraging social transition, then use of life-altering drugs. 

“This has already had a direct and lifelong impact on child development, the true extent of which is not yet known,” the group also wrote. “We believe this is a major scandal that requires a public inquiry. This should consider the extent to which state and non-state institutions have failed in their duty of care by supporting, encouraging or facilitating a model of ‘gender-affirming transition’ towards children who believe they are transgender.” 

NHS England’s proposed changes to its constitution come as the Biden administration continues its non-stop trajectory to full implementation of the gender ideology agenda in federal government. 

Last month the Biden education department released its final rule that expands Title IX protections for “sex” to include “gender identity” in government schools. 

And, on Monday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) also declared that employers who fail to use the preferred pronouns of an employee, or block workers claiming to identify as a gender that is inconsistent with their biological sex from using the restroom of their choice, will be considered as engaging in “harassment.” 

Despite the federal government’s embrace of gender ideology, at least 24 U.S. states have halted or restricted the prescription of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors. 

Additionally, researchers at the Mayo Clinic published a preprint study that found boys who are administered puberty blockers may face bodily harm such as “mild-to-severe sex gland atrophy” and a potential for sterility.