UK Health Secretary Orders NHS Use Word ‘Woman’ Instead of ‘People with Ovaries’

Health Secretary Sajid Javid speaking during the NHS ConfedExpo at the ACC Liverpool. Pict
Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

The British government has reportedly ordered the National Health Service (NHS) to use the word women instead of woke doublespeak language such as “people with ovaries”.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has reportedly intervened to prevent the nation’s socialised healthcare system from adopting so-called gender-free language after it emerged that the NHS removed references to women from online health advice pages for female-only cancers.

According to a report from The Sun newspaper, Javid is said to be concerned that the health service is prioritising woke ideology over the health outcomes of patients following warnings that such health advice may confuse those with English as a second language.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the NHS had altered the online landing pages cervical, ovarian and womb cancer to remove all references to women.

For example, the health advice page for ovarian cancer stated: “Anyone with ovaries can get ovarian cancer. This includes women, trans men, non-binary people and intersex people with ovaries.”

Responding to the initial report, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the Daily Mail:  “You won’t be surprised to know that, as the Health Secretary, I think that your sex matters, your biological sex is incredibly important to make sure you get the right treatment, the very best treatment.”

Asked whether he believed the NHS website should revert to its original and reinstate references to women, he said: “I am looking into this and you’ll know, look, the NHS, there (are) many different trusts and I want to listen to why someone might have taken a different approach – I don’t just want to assume – but I think I’ve made my views clear on this.”

“I know there’s some sensitivity around this language, but we have to use common sense and use the right language so that we can give people the best possible patient care,” he added.

Responding, an NHS Digital spokesperson said: “The NHS website provides information for everyone. We keep the pages under continual review to ensure they use language that is inclusive, respectful and relevant to the people reading it.”

The attack on the idea of womanhood with the use of non-gendered language has become increasingly prevalent in the UK. In April, for example, Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland was reported to have been instructing midwife students on how to deliver babies through the penises of “birthing persons”.

Last year, the leading medical journal in the country, The Lancet, was accused of dehumanising women after it published an article referring to women as “bodies with vaginas“.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka

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