by Tim Dieppe, The Critic
Compelled lying discriminates against Christians
Last year, Christian senior nurse Jennifer Melle, was summoned to a disciplinary hearing, given a final written warning, and referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Her offence? She referred to a convicted male paedophile as “Mr”.
The medical records of the convicted paedophile, who we will call “Mr X”, recorded that he was male. There was no reference to him being transgender, let alone female. Jennifer consulted these records in the presence of Mr X and then called a doctor. Speaking to the doctor, and not to Mr X, Jennifer told the doctor “Mr X would like to self-discharge.”
This prompted Mr X to scream: “Do not call me Mr! I am a woman!”
Once she got off the phone, Jennifer approached Mr X and politely explained: “I am sorry I cannot refer to you as her or she, as it’s against my faith and Christian values but I can call you by your name.”
Any reasonable person should agree with Jennifer. Mr X is biologically male. His gender was male on his medical records. In law he is male. He is a convicted paedophile. Out of sympathy for his victims, if nothing else, he should be referred to as male. The truth is that he is a man, and Jennifer is committed to speaking the truth. Her commitment to the truth is reinforced by her Christian faith. Who could possibly disagree?
It turns out that the NHS is now operating a policy of compelled speech. This amounts to enforced lying. If you won’t call a man a woman, and that man wants to be called a woman, you will be disciplined and face the prospect of losing your job and your career.
Christians, who in conscience will not lie, are going to run into problems when compelled to lie in this way.