James Saunders
Guest Reporter
A Labour MP has laid into the NHS for using "gendered vocabulary" in the latest trans row to grip Britain's health service.
Alex Sobel, the Leeds Central and Headingley MP, said doctors should use gender-neutral terms when referring to pregnant women to include transgender men.
He told the Commons that failing to ask transgender men whether there was a possibility they could be pregnant before hospital treatment could lead to "serious consequences".
Trans men - who were born female but identify as male - do not always undertake gender reassignment surgery, meaning that in some circumstances they can still become pregnant.
Sobel said: "Across the NHS there needs to be a greater awareness of trans men and trans masculine people who have given birth.
"For example [if] a trans man is not asked whether he could [be] pregnant before receiving a dose of radiation, there could be serious consequences.
"We can begin by removing gendered vocabulary from pregnancy care and parenthood."
He also claimed trans men "face a number of barriers in accessing equal quality healthcare on the NHS", including long wait times for breast removal surgery.
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"This leaves a situation where trans men and trans masculine individuals are forced to pay for private care, which not everyone can do, as we know," he said.
Trans men also endure "dysphoria and other associated mental health impacts, for which there is a lack of sector-wide support and training," he added.
"Top surgery drastically improves well-being and saves lives."
Sobel also pointed to the case of Freddy McConnell, a trans man who gave birth but was not allowed to be listed as his son's father.
He said: "The High Court ruled that even though he was considered [a] man by law and had a gender recognition certificate to prove it, he could not appear on his child's birth certificate as father or even parent.
"The same problems occur in access to cervical cancer treatment, currently a trans man or non-binary person with a male sex mark on their NHS record will not be included in the recall system.
"In this area the law is all over the place... There needs to be more input from trans people themselves."
Equalities Minister Dame Nia Griffith, the equalities minister, said: "The Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that trans people can receive the care and the support that they need when accessing NHS services, and that we as a Government do frequently engage with a wide range of stakeholders in this area, including the LGBT+ health adviser, Dr Michael Brady."
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Alex Sobel, the Leeds Central and Headingley MP, said doctors should use gender-neutral terms when referring to pregnant women to include transgender men.
He told the Commons that failing to ask transgender men whether there was a possibility they could be pregnant before hospital treatment could lead to "serious consequences".
Trans men - who were born female but identify as male - do not always undertake gender reassignment surgery, meaning that in some circumstances they can still become pregnant.
Sobel said: "Across the NHS there needs to be a greater awareness of trans men and trans masculine people who have given birth.
"For example [if] a trans man is not asked whether he could [be] pregnant before receiving a dose of radiation, there could be serious consequences.
"We can begin by removing gendered vocabulary from pregnancy care and parenthood."
He also claimed trans men "face a number of barriers in accessing equal quality healthcare on the NHS", including long wait times for breast removal surgery.
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"This leaves a situation where trans men and trans masculine individuals are forced to pay for private care, which not everyone can do, as we know," he said.
Trans men also endure "dysphoria and other associated mental health impacts, for which there is a lack of sector-wide support and training," he added.
"Top surgery drastically improves well-being and saves lives."
Sobel also pointed to the case of Freddy McConnell, a trans man who gave birth but was not allowed to be listed as his son's father.
He said: "The High Court ruled that even though he was considered [a] man by law and had a gender recognition certificate to prove it, he could not appear on his child's birth certificate as father or even parent.
"The same problems occur in access to cervical cancer treatment, currently a trans man or non-binary person with a male sex mark on their NHS record will not be included in the recall system.
"In this area the law is all over the place... There needs to be more input from trans people themselves."
Equalities Minister Dame Nia Griffith, the equalities minister, said: "The Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that trans people can receive the care and the support that they need when accessing NHS services, and that we as a Government do frequently engage with a wide range of stakeholders in this area, including the LGBT+ health adviser, Dr Michael Brady."
Find Out More...