by Daniel Sanderson, The Times
For Women Scotland campaign group describes the taxpayer support as ‘nauseating’
A taxpayer-funded charity has been criticised over a support group it runs that trains biological men to breastfeed babies.
LGBT Health and Wellbeing, which receives hundreds of thousands of pounds every year from the Scottish government, NHS and councils, runs a weekly session in Edinburgh in which transwomen are “giving human milk to their babies”.
The charity says that its “Queer Milk” group welcomes those “breastfeeding, chestfeeding or giving human milk to their baby in any amount … no matter what your feeding journey looks like”. The terminology used to promote the sessions make clear that it welcomes transgender women — biological men who identify as female — who are feeding infants.
Some biological men who identify as female can lactate after taking hormone treatment.
Advocates argue that studies have shown that the practice is safe and can mimic the benefits of women breastfeeding, though concrete evidence is scarce and critics say the practice remains experimental.
For Women Scotland, the gender-critical campaign group which has won a series of legal victories over the SNP government on trans issues, said taxpayers would be “sickened” that their money was being used to fund the promotion of a “creepy and highly disturbing practice”.