New NHS Guidelines Invite Men Who Identify as Women to Have Cervical Exams
Great Britain's National Health Service is offering breast exams and cervical smear tests for men who identify as women despite not having a cervix, according to a new public health guidebook on transgender and nonbinary persons.
Also, amid fears that offering women who identify as men to have breast and cervical cancer screenings would offend them, the country's national medical system would not be inviting such individuals for those kinds of tests, the Telegraph (UK) reported Sunday.
"We've now got to the point where state collusion with this transgender agenda is endangering the health of women. It's a ludicrous use of NHS resources to invite men for a cervical smear test, while it's immoral and dangerous not to invite women," said Laura Perrins, a conservative women's campaigner, in comments to the Daily Mail.
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Likewise, David Davies, a conservative member of the British parliament, who has argued against government plans allowing people to legally self-identify their gender, accused the NHS of political correctness and said the guidance puts at risk the lives of women who claim to be men. He also argued that it was a waste of time to offer men identifying as women medical exams for organs they do not have.
A 24-page Public Health England booklet provides information on NHS screening programs for transgender persons and explains who is invited for tests. Those who designate their gender as the same as their biological sex will be invited for medical screenings appropriate to that, the booklet says; yet they will not be invited for those medical tests if they register their new gender with their doctor.
Under these guidelines, a biologically female transgender man who registers as a male will not be sent invites for breast or cervical screenings. Most transgender men have not had their uteruses surgically removed, the Telegraph noted.
The NHS screening program aims to prevent cases of cervical cancer, which reportedly claims 900 women's lives annually in Great Britain.
Smear tests can be "uncomfortable" for trans men since "it is often a procedure designed for women," a video accompanying the guidelines explains. Trans men who are not invited for a smear test "should still consider having cervical screening," the advice says.
Anne Mackie, director of screening, said, "Where people feel they are not being referred correctly, they can speak to their GP or the screening service to ensure they are offered the right services."
"Following engagement with the LGBT community, we produced a guide to help trans people understand what screening is available in England. We have promoted the guide to LGBT groups to help trans people access the most appropriate screening for them."
The guidebook advising about who should receive invites for such screenings comes on the heels of another recent incident in England that provoked reactions of displeasure, showing how these particular medical tests have become politicized with the increasing visibility and presence of transgenderism in Western societies.
The Sunday Times reported last month that an unnamed British woman who requested a female nurse to conduct her cervical exam in September was alarmed when a male nurse, who claimed to be "transsexual," appeared instead.
The nurse reportedly had "an obviously male appearance, close-cropped hair, a male facial appearance and voice, [a] large number of tattoos and facial stubble."
The patient opted not to go through with the scheduled test, and subsequently filed a complaint with the NHS, which ultimately apologized to her.
"People who are not comfortable about this are presented as bigots and this is kind of how I was made to feel about it," she said.
