The NHS reportedly issued the new guidance after a pregnant transgender person had a CT scan, which could endanger the fetus
British health authorities have instructed doctors performing X-ray scans to ask men whether they are pregnant.
The “inclusive pregnancy status guidelines for ionizing radiation” was developed by the Society of Radiographers (SoR). According to The Telegraph, the guidance came in response to an incident in which a transgender man had a CT scan while pregnant. The decision was justified by the fact that the radiation from X-ray, CT and MRI scans can be harmful to unborn babies.
Doctors have therefore been told not to assume the gender identity of patients when performing all such procedures and inquiring of all people between the ages of 12 and 55 about pregnancy, including men, transgender, non-binary, and intersex patients.
Under the new guidance, patients are asked to fill out a form with a list of questions, including their sex at birth and fertility status. According to several X-ray specialists who spoke to The Telegraph on condition of anonymity, the questions have already been deemed “invasive” by many patients. Several doctors reported that men have reacted especially angrily to the forms, storming out of appointments at the implied suggestion that their gender was not obvious.
Another controversial aspect of the guidance is asking patients by which pronouns they would like to be addressed. Some parents of underage patients have reportedly been “furious” that their kids were asked their preferred names and pronouns – a question that confuses them – while one doctor revealed that a patient started to doubt their own gender identity after filling out the form.
Some doctors and human rights campaigners said they considered the new guidelines “humiliating” to patients, and said they have already appealed to the NHS to drop the system and “return to common sense.”
“Given that it is impossible for anyone of the male sex to become pregnant, there is no need to ask male people if they might be pregnant… The proposed radiography guidelines muddy the water by including so-called intersex conditions,” Dr. Louise Irvine told the news outlet.
“The SoR’s inclusion policy is among the worst examples of professional bodies losing their senses by prioritizing ideology ahead of biological fact. Putting healthcare staff and male patients through this humiliating farce… is both inappropriate and a shocking waste of time,” Fiona McAnena, the head of campaigns at human rights charity Sex Matters, stated.
It was not clear from the report how many UK medical institutions have adopted the new guidelines, but a number of hospitals in London and other cities were reported to have started using the new inquiry forms.
