Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for the Department of Health and Social Care on 22 October 2024 (4235), what their policy is on the use of the phrase "pregnant people" by the NHS, in place of sex-specific language such as “pregnant women” or “pregnant women and girls”.

The National Health Service website aims to provide health advice and guidance that is clear and easy to understand, and that helps everyone who uses the website find the information they need, so they can make informed decisions about their own health.

This Government believes in an approach to equality that benefits all groups, not some groups at the expense of others. As part of this, we understand the need for health information to be as clear as possible and to use language that is grounded in biological sex. Using the right language is crucial to ensure patients, including women, receive the dignity and inclusion they should expect when accessing services. However, we recognise that for some people, their gender identity is different from their biological sex.