Doctor David Mackereth worked for the NHS as a medical assessor for 26 years until recently when he was “sacked” and ruled “unfit” to continue working with the Department because “he refused to identify patients as being of a sex that they did not see themselves as.”
What should be a biological discussion is now one of religious and speech issues. Though it’s not unique to Christianity to believe gender is determined biologically and can’t be chosen on a whim, Mackereth’s stance is portrayed (at least by The Telegraph) as one based on religious principles.
Mackereth claims his freedom of speech is being quashed because he’s been fired for refusing to renounce his Christian beliefs.
The Telegraph has the story:
Dr Mackereth, who registered as a doctor in 1989 and spent most of his career working in Accident & Emergency wards, said: “I’m not attacking the transgender movement. But, I’m defending my right to freedom of speech, and freedom of belief.“I don’t believe I should be compelled to use a specific pronoun. I am not setting out to upset anyone. But, if upsetting someone can lead to doctors being sacked then, as a society we have to examine where we are going.”Dr Mackereth, a Reformed Baptist, started a training course in May to become a health and disability assessor for the DWP. His role would have meant interviewing and then writing independent reports about the health of those claiming disability benefits.However, when his instructor stated that reports must only refer to the patient – or “client” – by the sex that person identified themselves as, a discussion took place among the medics about the “fluid” nature of gender, Dr Mackereth claims.“I said that I had a problem with this. I believe that gender is defined by biology and genetics. And that as a Christian the Bible teaches us that God made humans male or female. I could have kept my mouth shut. But, it was the right time to raise it.“The tutor took me aside and said he had passed my comments up the chain to the DWP.”
Mackereth was contacted by the DWP, who said an unwillingness to refer to individuals by their preferred pronoun “could be considered to be harassment as defined by the 2010 Equality Act”.
Dr Mackereth then received an email from Advanced Personnel Management (APM), the agency that employed him and would have hired him out to the DWP.They explained he could undergo training about the department’s policy, but the DWP had consulted lawyers and was adamant that any report or contact with clients should refer to them in their chosen sex otherwise it “could be considered to be harassment as defined by the 2010 Equality Act”.The doctor replied that “in good conscience” he could not conform to those demands, and so the contract was terminated between them.He said: “Firstly, we are not allowed to say what we believe. Secondly, as my case shows, we are not allowed to think what we believe. Finally, we are not allowed to defend what we believe.“By stating what has been believed by mankind for centuries – namely that gender and sex are determined at birth – you can come under ferocious attack.“If we are no longer allowed to say that you believe sex and gender are the same and are determined at birth, everyone who holds my views can be sacked on the spot under this Act. I’m not an isolated case.”
Just a few years back, the NHS was criticized for “failing” transgendered people:
Just a few months ago, after intense backlash, the NHS walked back a question included in primary school surveys asking 10-year-olds if they felt “the same inside” as the gender they were born.
Amazingly (or not), refusal to honor preferred pronouns is considered harassment, but sacking someone for their religious beliefs isn’t.
Brave new world, indeed.
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