History in the making! Watch Parliament Live at 2.30pm!

[Sunkisses]

According to @SexMattersOrg on Twitter the Govt have backed down on the MOMA (Maternity) Bill and will now use the word 'mother' not 'person' in the legislation!

Women did this! We are winning!

Tune in live here at 2.30pm to see history in the making: www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/3ca1efa2-16a5-489d-a5a0-5d929bff81f6

This is about women’s rights and protections in law.

There is no hatred here.

We are entitled to the safeguarding of biological fact in law, and, further, to the freedom in society to declare, without fear or harrassment, biological fact.

We are entitled to our protections.

We are allowed to be happy and relieved that the agenda of erasure of womanhood is pushed back yet again.

Thank God. It’s about bloody time. A real victory for British women. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

For when mimmymum realises it might be wise to delete her tweet:

<a class="break-all" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210225182141/twitter.com/mimmymum/status/1364985789654978562" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">web.archive.org/web/20210225182141/twitter.com/mimmymum/status/1364985789654978562

@BuntingEllacott

'In this instance, the rights of mothers trump the rights of trans people.'

Crikey.

That's one is my MANY favourite quotes @BuntingEllacott. I wrote a lot of them down, but this one really struck me as so to the point.

Plus Lord Forsyth telling Lord True he was "The Midwife delivering common sense "

So many amazing moments. I'm floating on a cloud at the moment.

It's actually made me feel really empowered to fight our school re Stonewall membership. Stonewall have caused this shit and there will be hell to pay before I let them anywhere near my son's school. I think the Lords have given us all permission to speak up. Let's do it!

If anyone cuts together all the best bits, please share it!! 🙏

Baroness Fox: "I reassure the noble Baroness (Barker) that this is not an argument for bigotry; it is for women’s rights. She fears that this is stating that trans people are a threat to women, but that is not what I am trying to do at all. What is a threat to women is a particular brand of trans identity ideology. That does threaten women, but that is not the same as trans people."

Indeed.

The whole of mumsnet seems determined that transwomen are the threat, though. Witness this thread. The level of glee and sheer hate is depressing"

This is about language around female bodies and what they do. It has zero to do with male people of any gender identity.

It’s not hate, I don’t hate anyone who decides to change their sex. I do take issue with a TINY percentage of the population attempting to change language and rights of women.

By all means be whatever you want to be, but don’t try to change MY rights or the rights of my daughter.

Pregnant people, chest feeding...a fucking joke! Only a women can have baby ( one born with a womb) if you wish to op out of being a women, fine. Don’t think you can redefine women....only a man would do that....

@malloo

Baroness Fox: "I reassure the noble Baroness (Barker) that this is not an argument for bigotry; it is for women’s rights. She fears that this is stating that trans people are a threat to women, but that is not what I am trying to do at all. What is a threat to women is a particular brand of trans identity ideology. That does threaten women, but that is not the same as trans people."

Indeed.

That’s a belter.

Above all, language in law must be factual.

Anything else is the Orwellian nightmare.

These things matter.

Thank you! to all who are driving this!

@Endofthelinefinally

I have been fortunate to have spent some time in both the HOC and the HOL because of my participation in certain health care related groups. I have met a lot of very interesting people and am completely convinced that the HOL is a Very Good Thing. Apart from a handful of hereditary peers and a few undeserving cronies they are intelligent, high achievers and generally keep working hard well into their 80s. Including the bishops. The current AB of C is excellent on mental health.

The HoL is a fantastic check on the Commons. I really wish the Scottish parliament had a second chamber.

Here are the Twitter handles of the peers who spoke up to women for today:

@ladylilo2
@ProfRWinston
@BaronessDeech
@LordLucasCD
@LordPhilofBrum
@1SVN
@Baroness_Nichol
@lord_forsyth
@IloraFinlay
@Fox_Claire
@BaronessUddin
@rosaltmann
@DavidTriesman
@CatharineHoey
@dobbs_michael

Many peers are not on Twitter so here are the names of those we feel supported women in case you want to email them (contact details on the Parliament website). You can read their speeches on Hansard if you want to reference anything they said in particular.

L Lucas
L Hunt of Kings Heath
L Craig of Radley
B Noakes
L Cormack
L Winston
B Nicholson of Winterbourne
L Dodds of Duncairn
L Mancroft
L Forsyth of Drumlean
L Morrow
B Finlay of Llandaff
B Meyer
B Fox of Buckley (p)
L Polak
B Uddin
B Altmann
L Triesman
L Balfe
B Hoey
L Lilley
B Deech
L Dobbs

We have A LOT of thank you postcards to write tomorrow!

Ignore weird asterisks, apology for formatting. The twitter handles will help you find them.

Very tired!

Amazing day for women! the natal ones that is.....

The whole of mumsnet seems determined that transwomen are the threat, though. Witness this thread. The level of glee and sheer hate is depressing.

Being as this thread is nothing to do with transwomen, how is it demonstrating sheer hate towards transwomen?

We're gleeful because our words mean a lot to us, and it's finally been acknowledged that we're not bigots for wanting to be referred to with a tiny bit of respect, instead of being dehumanised constantly.

It's an absolute disgrace that we have to overwhelmed and so grateful that mothers can be called mothers in a maternity bill.

"Endlesswicker There is mention of him upthread yes, where he calmly explains human biology in a nutshell"

Thank you. Wonderful stuff to just listen , I particularly like how he opened with a brief mention of latin root of Maternity.

Ofcourse, Mother or Women need to be in a bill about Mothers or Women.

One silver lining of the pandemic is that I hope Scientists are valued again for their evidence based thought.

This is about language around female bodies and what they do. It has zero to do with male people of any gender identity.

Exactly

Delighted ! It does matter. It's got nothing to do with hatred of anyone, but I am who I am. A woman and a mother.

List of people to thank (except not two of them who happily throw women under the bus in order to please gendered souls).

docs.google.com/document/d/1NpiSUxpKDV2zSRbU-2PF0bkKpomgYD4cSMtkRWTIqpw/edit

Delighted by this.

Lord Winston is actually the reason I'm here. He was the medical professional involved in my mothers care when trying to conceive me. Won't give too many outing details but if it wasn't for him myself and DSis wouldn't be here. Neither would our DC.

I'm overjoyed he has supported this amendment along with the other lords.

As a PP suggested I think I will send my thanks, for not only helping to give me life but also for supporting my rights as a woman and as a mother.

Well done H o L.
Am very grateful for a second chamber.

Sorry - just spotted the fabulous ConservativesforWomen have put up a much better list.

And I strongly suspect that they have been beavering away behind the scenes to make this happen. Thanks all . You have helped make me soooooooooo happy tonight.

Rather surprised that mimmymum hasn't renamed herself mimmybirthingparent

I had written to my MP (Labour) about it before the climb down. He gave me some shit about the government reassuring him that it was legally sound and not government policy to disadvantage women.
What a joke!

And what a victory. Well done everyone.

Where's a good place to order a batch of nice thank you cards from? Any feminist stationers any of you can recommend? I use TouchNote for one-offs but need a batch