Booking an abortion and asked if I identified as male or female

[Fuckfuckfuckshit]

I actually laughed down the phone. The woman at Marie stopes agreed she felt embarrassed even asking that question given the topic - world is going crazy. Least it gave me a laugh in an otherwise not very funny topic

I fear in the future everyone will have to self identify

At least that would be honest and fair, if the govt etc made it clear that was what was required of people. There would need to be a proper information campaign explaining gender identities, and "cis" and listing options. Data gathering and service planning would become even more complicated but at least it gives everyone a fair crack at choosing their own identity, not just young people and middle aged men.

There already needs to be an honest information campaign about services and spaces being segregated by gender identity and not sex as is presumed by most. Currently facts are obscured people are not able to exercise informed consent about who they share spaces with.

Isn't it interesting how the trans lobby don't push for this. Instead they only recruit young people in schools.

This ideology relies on a huge and historically marginalised group of people to take on the identity of "cis woman", largely without their consent; their oppression rendered invisible under the false hierarchy of cis and trans.

I agree that it's daft to be 'offended' by this question per se but I don't think that's what posters mean. I think they are irritated by the general move to change language, policy and practice to claim that sex can change just by saying it can- this is just one example. This is not a neutral change, it has huge implications.

Absolutely. My objection to this had nothing to do with being offended, or with hurt feelings. My feelings don't get hurt by ridiculous things like this.
I am though absolutely disgusted by the unnecessary infiltration of trans ideology in our everyday lives. It's insidious and if we allow little things like this to take root the consequences will be awful. We need to protest wherever we can, even if on surface level it seems ridiculous and we can just laugh it off as absurd. Not because we are offended (I think we should avoid that word so as not to end up in the hurty-feels camp) but because we have a realistic outlook. Which in this case is that only women need abortions, and gender identity is irrelevant.

I am finding it hard to article why but I do find it offensive that this is being asked routinely. I think patients who want certain names and pronouns to be used, can ask for that use, actively themselves. They are adults. Why isn’t that acceptable to do? All health care professionals get special requests all the time, they are happy to accommodate them wherever they can, this is a straightforward request regarding language to be used, so why is this one issue being elevated to be every woman’s concern?

I just don’t think that it’s appropriate that when every woman is being booked in, that every woman should be asked what they identify as. It’s a very stressful time for a lot of women in the run up to an abortion, and it should be made as simple and fuss free for the majority as possible to do. also for important reasons of trust and comfort women should feel that their abortion provider is on the same page as them ethos-wise. This question could create the opposite effect for a lot of women.

Secondly on a principle level, given that for generations women died, were permanently or temporarily injured, left their children motherless, committed suicide, committed infanticide, were thrown out of home, lost jobs, got into debt, had babies they didn’t want and weren’t able to look after, and much worse... and so on and so on... because safe and legal abortion was unavailable to them, a huge biologically inescapable burden that men just didn’t have to factor in, it kind of feels quite insulting- given that horrific or fatal burden for so many women and children- that the feelings of a small number of people are now to be privileged such that everyone has to pay their issues attention upfront in this way.

It feels like empty virtue signalling on the part of the service provider and feels particularly insulting to women in this particular medical and historical context of the very very hard-won right to an abortion.

*Articulate (not ‘article’)