A doctor has had his government contract terminated after refusing to renounce his Christian belief that gender is determined at birth.
Dr David Mackereth, 55, was training to be a Department for Work and Pensions disability assessor when he was instructed that reports must refer to the patient or client only by the gender that the person self-identifies as.
Dr Mackereth, an NHS doctor for 26 years, took issue with this, saying that he believes that gender is defined by biology and genetics and that as a Christian be believes the Bible’s teaching that God made humans male or female. When he refused to recant, his contract was terminated.
Sexual diversity campaigners, co-opting feminist arguments, claim that ‘gender’ is a social construct imposed upon infants at birth, ensuring that they grow into socially-approved male and female stereotypes. In fact biological sex is determined at conception. A person may call themselves any ‘gender’ they like, but there should be no compulsion on anyone else to agree with them, unless we want vastly to increase the capacity of our prison system.
The fact of being male or female is not just Dr Mackereth’s ‘Christian belief’ but is shared by the vast majority because it is based on science. The ‘new psychology’ would insist, against all evidence, that people ‘can be whatever they want to be’, but there is no new science saying that simply by willing it, people can become whatever sex they want to be. To deny this would require that we alter all scientific textbooks in case a ‘trans person’ is offended by scientific fact. Perhaps we should burn them all, just in case.
The DWP requires Dr Mackereth to accept any individual’s claim regarding their ‘gender’, but if a perfectly able person presented a benefits claim because they considered themselves disabled, should he take their word for it?
Dr Mackereth maintains: ‘I’m not attacking the transgender movement but I am defending my right to freedom of speech, and freedom of belief. I don’t think I should be compelled to us a specific pronoun.’
The most troubling feature of this case is the clear message that unless you are prepared to lie, you cannot be a public servant.
Footnote: In standing his ground the doctor is in good company – Professor Jordan Peterson came to public notice because he refused to use ‘genderless’ pronouns with his students
