London The Health Service has removed the word “dad” from a pregnancy handbook for fear of offending gay and lesbian parents.
Officials decided to use the term “partner” throughout the 200-page guide, titled Ready Steady Baby, after receiving a complaint that “dad” was discriminating against same-sex couples.
“This is all part of an agenda to present as natural a type of family that cannot be created by natural means” Norman Wells, of the Family Education Trust
But the omission of the word has angered some campaigners who claim that traditional family values are being undermined.
Squandering taxpayers’ money’
“The NHS should not be squandering taxpayers’ money to advance the cause of a minority interest group.
“No matter how much effort is made to present positive images of families headed by same-sex couples, the fact remains it takes a man and a woman to create a child.”
Only given to pregnant women in Scotland
Although the guide is published by the NHS, it is given only to pregnant women in Scotland when they go to ante-natal classes. Expectant mothers in England are given a similar pamphlet, The Pregnancy Book. A spokesman for the Department of Health, which produces it, said there were no current plans to remove the word “dad” from this guide.
A spokesman for NHS Health Scotland said it had been reviewing the wording anyway and had made several other changes. They confirmed it cost £100,000 (Dh576,249) to print 90,000 copies of the new version.
Short URL: http://www.newsnet14.com/?p=103179
No comments:
Post a Comment