Welsh women ova NHS wokespeak
Conservative MS Natasha Asghar slams a Welsh health board for referring to “people who were born with ovaries”, while women’s rights campaigners warn that “nonsensical gender gibberish” has spread across NHS Wales
A Welsh health board has been slammed for referring to women as “people who were born with ovaries”.
The row began after Natasha Asghar, the Welsh Conservative MS for Newport and Islwyn, criticised Aneurin Bevan University Health Board for using terms including ‘pregnant people’ and ‘people who menstruate’.
“There is nothing offensive about the word ‘women’ and it is deeply worrying that it has been deliberately omitted from these documents,” she said.
On her website, Ms Asghar was quoted as saying: “Patients want timely treatment, shorter waiting lists and faster care in A&E. Aneurin Bevan University Health Board should cut waiting lists and drop the woke language.”
She added: “Every patient deserves respectful care, and that does not require describing women as ‘people who were born with ovaries’.”
But the board defended its wording. A spokesperson told the South Wales Argus that the board was committed to ensuring everyone could access the healthcare they need, adding:
“Our health information is designed to be clear, accurate and inclusive, helping people understand their health and access appropriate care.
“We don’t consider this woke, we consider it to be respectful.”
Ceri Rosser, deputy coordinator of Women’s Rights Network Wales, said Aneurin Bevan University was “just one of several” Welsh health boards that appeared to have “mislaid the memo informing them that the law is clear”.
“We all know that however a woman chooses to identify, she does so in a female body and its the exact same body that gets pregnant, has periods, and attends screening. For a health board to erase that uniquely female experience is offensive and absurd.
“Health is devolved in Wales, so perhaps it’s not surprising, given the stated aspirations of our Welsh Government, which include seeking the devolution of equalities legislation and striving for self ID, that a health board continues to trot out nonsensical gender gibberish”.
Trans activist terminology is widespread across health boards in Wales. Hywel Dda’s radiology procedure refers to ‘individuals of childbearing potential’ and ‘chestfeeding’. This wording followed a recommendation in a 2023 Healthcare Inspectorate Wales report, which advised the pregnancy procedure’s use of ‘she’ and ‘female’ did not reflect ‘the diversity of the gender spectrum in the population.’
Meanwhile, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board’s maternity guidance tells staff to treat patients ‘as they present’ and use their preferred pronouns. The guidance also suggests a ‘queer parenting partnership body map’ [pictured above] to record how patients want their body parts referred to. It warns that failing to treat trans people with ‘respect, dignity, sensitivity and without judgement’ will ‘invariably’ lead to discrimination and formal action. It describes refusing to use a person’s recognised pronouns as ‘a form of harassment and discrimination’.
WRN Wales says it raised concerns about the lawfulness of three Aneurin Bevan University Health Board policies. In response, the board’s chief executive, Ms Prygodzicz, reassured them that
“The Health Board has an active Women’s Network which provides a forum for engagement, peer support and the advancement of issues affecting women in the workplace.”
A spokeswoman for WRN Wales noted: “It would seem that the word ‘women’ is perfectly acceptable when referring to staff but for patients, it’s reduced to ‘people who were born with ovaries’.”
The wording used by health services across Wales echoes the Welsh Government’s LGBTQ+ Action Plan, which set out to make the country ‘the most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe’.