The BMA (Resident Junior Doctors), or British Medical Association, the body that represents GP’s in the UK, has panned the recent Supreme Court ruling on what the word “sex” means in the Equality Act 2010 as “scientifically incorrect”.
Not the first time BMA has come out in defence of Transgender People
Last year, the BMA criticised the CASS report for relying on unreliable evidence and called for a pause on the indefinite ban on puberty blockers recently imposed by the current Labour Government.
“The BMA is calling for a pause to the implementation of the Cass Review’s recommendations whilst the task and finish group carries out its work. It is expected to be completed towards the end of this year. In the meantime, the BMA believes transgender and gender-diverse patients should continue to receive specialist healthcare, regardless of their age.”
What has it said about the Supreme Court Ruling
The BMA (Resident Junior Doctors) recently had a meeting to discuss the ruling and made a statement on the outcome of the meeting.
This meeting condemns the Supreme Court ruling defining the term “Woman” with respect to the Equality Act 2010 as being based on ‘biological sex’, which they refer to as person who ‘was at birth of the female sex’, as reductive, trans and intersex-exclusionary and biologically nonsensical. We recognise as doctors that sex and gender are complex and multifaceted aspects of the human condition and appempting to impose a rigid binary has no basis in science or medicine while being actively harmful to transgender and gender diverse people. As such this meeting:
- Reiterates the BMA’s position on affirming the rights of transgender and non-binary individuals to live their lives with dignity, having their identity respected.
- Reminds the Supreme Court of the existence of interest people and reaffirms their right to exist in the gender identity that matches their sense of self, regardless of whether this matches any identiy assigned at birth.
- Condemns scientifically illiterate rulings from the Supreme Court, made without consulting relevant experts and stakeholders, that will cause real-world harm to the trans, non-binary and intersex communities in this country.
- Commits to strive for better access to necessary health services for trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people.
Conclusion
This is the second time the BMA has scientifically defended transgender, intersex, and gender-diverse people.
These people are experts in their field and should be listened to. They have the medical and scientific knowledge to back up their conclusions.
Transgender people have always said this is not about the protection of cis women, but a demonisation of a minority that does not have a voice in the circles of power in this country.
Even some cis women are now afraid of what this will mean for them if they do not look like they are feminine enough.
We, the transgender community, are a distraction that the media and certain parties can use to cover up the things the people in power want the public not to know. It’s the classic divide-and-conquer.
This is yet more scientific evidence, this time voiced by experts, that all this is just plain institutional transphobia
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