Aontú leader Peadar Toibín has slammed the HSE for claiming that “most” pregnant people are women, accusing the health service of prioritising “political ideology” over science.
The comments came in response to a Gript article last week, which revealed that earlier this year, as part of the HSE’s guidance around dealing with diabetic pregnant women, it was claimed that “most people” who are pregnant “identify” as female.
“On use of language: while we recognise that most people who are pregnant identify as female, it is important to acknowledge that some females do not identify with that term, and transgender men may experience pregnancy,” the document reads.
“Therefore, the terms ‘women with diabetes’ or ‘pregnant people with diabetes’ or ‘people with diabetes’ are used throughout this document to convey respect to the variety of life and peoples wishes.”
“While we recognise that most people who are pregnant identify as female…transgender men may experience pregnancy,” the HSE has claimed.https://t.co/VYXiSWlJQ6
— gript (@griptmedia) August 16, 2024
Toibín said that this claim is “problematic in so many ways,” and that it served to undermine public confidence in the health system.
“First of all, its not true,” the Meath-West TD said.
“When the health service cannot be accurate in terms of basic biology or science it undermines people’s confidence in that health service,” he said.
“Health Services must follow the science. If they prioritise political ideology before science, it can only disrupt effective delivery of healthcare.”
Toibín added that clear communication by the HSE to patients was of “critical importance”, and that “confusing” that message for “political or ideological purposes” would “lead to poorer health outcomes.”
“There is no doubt that the decision by Cervical Check not to use the word ‘woman’ and instead to use the term ‘person with a cervix’ led to confusion which may very well have led to ill health are worse for the target of that campaign,” he said, adding that the State’s inability to define what a ‘woman’ is was problematic from a health perspective.
“Not being able to define what a woman is has many negative consequences,” he continued.
“How can you legislate to support and protect women if you can’t define them? How can you fund key health services for women if you can’t define what a woman is? How can woman have safe spaces if there is no gate keeper at all as to who can access that those spaces? How can women compete fairly in sports if women have to compete against men who are biologically stronger and faster?”
Toibín said that he was “amazed” that the HSE was wedded to an “outdated ideological fashion” such as gender ideology, when “most people in Ireland disagree with it.”
“It has been proven to have caused enormous damage to so many young people who suffer gender dysphoria, putting them on a path to irreversible surgery and damaging chemical puberty blockers,” he said.
“Health services right through the western world are reversing out of this dangerous ideological cul de sac because they know the damage that it has caused.”
He concluded by claiming that undermining trust in official institutions through such claims is what fuels “conspiracy theories” at a societal level.
“In Ireland the government and the media fret repeatedly about conspiracy theories that that have taken hold in society,” he said.
“But the government are one of the major reasons that so many people have lost confidence in the State. Telling people that men can get pregnant, teaching children that there that gender is whatever you want it to be, is just one of the many reasons this government have atomised the confidence of so many people in the State.”
He added: “If the government want to regain the confidence of the people they need to get back to the facts.”