×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Wednesday
04
Feb 2026
weather symbol
Athens 15°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> World

Don’t call pregnant women ‘expectant mothers’ as it might offend transgender people, BMA says

Unbelievable ideas...

Newsroom January 30 03:50

There is something not right with our world today. Things are looking more and more like Orwell’s dystopia described in the his classic “1984”.
Just read on and you will understand why we say that:

The British Medical Association has said pregnant women should not be called “expectant mothers” as it could offend transgender people.
Instead, they should call them “pregnant people” so as not to upset intersex and transgender men, the union has said.
The advice comes in an internal document to staff outlining a raft of common phrases that should be avoided for fear of causing offence.
“The elderly” should be referred to as “older people”, “disabled lifts” called “accessible lifts” and someone who is “biologically male or female” should be called “assigned male or female”.
The BMA said the document was purely guidance for its staff on effective communication within the workplace, not advice to its 156,000 doctor members on how to deal with patients.
On pregnancy and maternity, it says: “Gender inequality is reflected in traditional ideas about the roles of women and men. Though they have shifted over time, the assumptions and stereotypes that underpin those ideas are often deeply-rooted.”
It adds: “A large majority of people that have been pregnant or have given birth identify as women. We can include intersex men and transmen who may get pregnant by saying ‘pregnant people’ instead of ‘expectant mothers’.”
It recently emerged  that a Briton who was born a girl but wants to become a man has put surgery on hold in order to have a baby.
Hayden Cross, 20, is legally male and had hormone treatment but not yet had sex-change surgery.
There  are no other known cases of a transitioning person becoming pregnant in the UK.
The guide also advises against using  the terms “born man” or “born woman” in relation to trans people, as these phrases “are reductive and over-simplify a complex subject”.
Elsewhere, staff are told to substitute the words “surname” or “last name” for “family name”.
“Mankind” and “manpower” should be avoided because it is “not good practice” to use a “masculine noun”, instead swapped for “humanity” and “personnel”, and listing prefixes for names such as “Prof”, “Dr”, “Mr”, “Mrs” or “Miss” should not be put in a particular order on forms to avoid a “perceived hierarchy”.
The document, which was published last year,  also underlines guidance on language that has long been considered offensive, suggesting staff do not refer to people as being “spastic” or “mongol” but that they should be called a “person with cerebral palsy” or “person with Down’s syndrome”.
The advice came in a 14-page leaflet, called A Guide to Effective Communication: Inclusive Language in the Workplace.
The introduction to the document states: “This guide promotes good practice through the use of language that shows respect for and sensitivity towards everyone. The choice of appropriate words makes an important contribution towards the celebration of diversity.
“As well as avoiding offence, it is about treating each other with dignity and as equal members of an integrated community.”
A BMA spokesman said: “This is a guide for BMA staff and representatives aimed at promoting an inclusive workplace at the BMA. It is not workplace guidance for doctors which is clear from the fact it does not refer to patients.”
Conservative MP Philip Davies described the guidance as “completely ridiculous”.
He said: “If you can’t call a pregnant woman an expectant mother, then what is the world coming to?”
Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester, told The Mail on Sunday: “I think it is sad that society is being pushed in this direction. God has made us man and woman, and mothers relate to their children in different ways than fathers. This ruling will confuse people about the vital role of mothers in bringing up their children.”
The Roman Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth, the Right Reverend Philip Egan, warned it would cause “great confusion and harm”.
He said: “It is Orwellian, isn’t it? Another example of people trying to control our thoughts and the way we speak.”
However, Heather Ashton, from the transgender support group TG Pals, said: “We know that biological females are the pregnant ones but trans people are parents too, and this is massive step forward to prevent discrimination against them. The fact that the terminology is changing can only be a positive thing for everyone who wants to be a parent and has the right to be a parent.”

Source

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#Mothers#Orwell#transgender#UK
> More World

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Massive layoffs at the Washington Post, foreign correspondents and journalists removed

February 4, 2026

Floridis: The creation of the bailiffs’ platform does not restrict lawyers’ scope of work

February 4, 2026

Thanos Plevris: We are tightening the framework for smugglers – Prison or voluntary return for those not entitled to asylum

February 4, 2026

Athens comes alive with 65 carnival events across 50 city locations

February 4, 2026

Libyan prosecutors open investigation into the assassination of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi

February 4, 2026

The Moroccan from the Chios incident is arrested, he was identified as the trafficker of the migrants

February 4, 2026

Silver: The landscape after the big plunge – How the market may move and what analysts are forecasting

February 4, 2026

Water in Aegina is unsafe for all uses, what the analyses showed

February 4, 2026
All News

> Culture

Athens comes alive with 65 carnival events across 50 city locations

Once again, the City of Athens invites residents and visitors of all ages to experience the joy of Carnival

February 4, 2026

Research reveals that the inhabitants of Messa Mani constitute a unique genetic “island” in Europe

February 4, 2026

Greece and Italy form a joint front against the illicit trafficking of cultural property

February 3, 2026

The day the music died: The plane crash that took three great talents

February 3, 2026

“DESSERT”: Painting Exhibition by Nikos Siskos at Sianti Gallery

February 2, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα