NHS should use the phrase ‘birthing partners’ rather than mothers to accommodate modern families, controversial Labour MP claims
- Lloyd Russell-Moyle said NHS should refer to ‘birthing partners’ and not mothers
- Two women could have a baby together, so mother would refer to both, he says
- But he says he does not agree with total ban on gendered language within NHS
The NHS should refer to ‘birthing partners’ instead of mothers in order to accommodate modern families, a controversial Labour MP has said.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle said there could be circumstances in which two women were having a baby together, so the word mother could refer to either of them.
And the left-winger – who earlier this year was accused of heckling and trying to intimidate female MPs standing up for women’s rights in the Commons – said that a surrogate may not consider herself to be the mother of the baby she was carrying.
However he insisted he did not agree with a total ban on gendered language on NHS websites and documents.
His comments came after more than 1,000 health service staff demanded that the word woman must be reinstated to NHS websites about topics such as ovarian cancer, the menopause and pregnancy.
Many of the pages now only feature gender-neutral language such as ‘people’ rather than women.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (pictured) said there could be circumstances in which two women were having a baby together, so the word mother could refer to either of them
READ MORE: Hundreds of doctors and nurses demand NHS reinstates the word ‘woman’ to cancer and pregnancy web pages
More than 1,000 health service staff called for the chance as at least 19 female health pages on the website do not include the term ‘woman’ or if it is used it is accompanied by inclusive language
In a letter to NHS bosses, the clinicians wrote: ‘We call for the reinstatement of sex-based, respectful communication that meets the healthcare needs of women.’
Asked about the controversy on the BBC’s Politics Live programme – held on International Women’s Day – Mr Russell-Moyle said: ‘I don’t think there should be a ban on gendered language in NHS guidelines. Where it’s accurate, it should be used and should be allowed to be used.’
But he went on: ‘Where it needs to include more people, you can use alternative formulations. I don’t think there should be a one size fits all.
‘For example there may be many reasons why you don’t want to say mother because there might be two mothers in that relationship and you want to be clear you’re talking about the birthing parent.
‘It might well be that it’s a surrogate who doesn’t consider themselves a mother because genetically it is not the mother.’
An NHS spokesperson said of the gender-neutral terminology: ‘The NHS website provides information for everyone and we keep the pages under continual review to ensure they use language that is inclusive, respectful, and relevant to the people reading it.
‘The word ‘woman’ remains vital to healthcare information about women’s health and this issue is currently under review.’
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