UK Christian doctor fights back after being fired over trans pronouns
Christian doctor from the UK who lost his job over his objection to preferred pronouns said it was important for Christians and health care workers to stand up to transgender ideology in the workplace.
A Christian doctor, who was fired for refusing to use transgender pronouns with patients, says his case is not an isolated one and urged other medical professionals and people of faith to "stand up" and "affirm truth" in battles over gender ideology.
Dr. David Mackereth, 60, lost his job as an emergency room doctor in the United Kingdom in 2019, after practicing medicine for 26 years. He had objected to using a hypothetical patient's preferred pronouns in a training exercise.
"I told them as a Christian in good conscience, I couldn't do that," Mackereth told Fox News Digital. His refusal eventually led to his dismissal.
David Mackereth is appealing his employment case with a European court. (David Mackereth/Christian Legal Centre)
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His employer declared that failing to use a patient's preferred pronouns would fall under "harassment" under the U.K. Equality Act of 2010 and fired him.
The doctor said he would never treat a transgender patient different than any other patient but to him it was a matter of honesty.
"If we are introducing a fundamental principle of dishonesty into medical practice… that has a very big impact on the quality of our health care," he told Fox News Digital.
After his firing he filed a lawsuit against his former employer for religious discrimination but lost his claim before the Employment Tribunal just three months later. The Tribunal ruled his biblical beliefs on gender were "incompatible with human dignity."
"If Christianity isn't protected by the Equality Act here in the United Kingdom, then surely the Equality Act is worthless," Mackereth said.
The anti-discrimination law claims to protect citizens from being harassed or discriminated against for their religious beliefs, gender identity and other characteristics.
Dr. David Mackereth, a doctor of 26 years in the NHS, lost his job for refusing to refer to clients by a transgender pronoun, citing his religious views and science. (Christian Legal Centre)
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The verdict was partially overturned in May 2022 by the Employment Appeal Tribunal, said the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting Mackereth. However, the Tribunal still held that his firing had been justified and was upheld by the Court of Appeal.
"For a court to declare that Christianity was not illegal but wasn't protected was more or less saying that Christianity was irrelevant to the modern world," he told Fox News Digital. "There's still a lot of Christians around, and we've got an awful lot of history behind us."
While Mackereth said it was obvious that transgender ideology was pervasive in the West, he said it was important to stand up to it.
"I don't think there's any doubt whatsoever with the influx of transgender ideology that is gripping the Western world, and it's gripping the United Kingdom very large. It just seems to be in the United States. There's no doubt that some ideologies are more equal than others, shall we say. It's quite clear you can't give everybody everything they want. But as a Christian doctor, I would put truth at the foundation of what I do. And it's simply impossible for a person to change sex. So I can't go along with that," he said.
A person wears a gender-neutral pronoun jacket at a "Rainbow Runway for Equality" to kick off Pride Month at Central World Mall on June 1, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. (Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
Mackereth referred his case to the General Medical Council (GMC), an independent body that keeps a register and sets standards for medical professionals in the U.K. The GMC appeared to side with Mackereth in a letter this week. After reviewing his case, the council determined there was "no evidence to indicate" his fitness to practice was impaired, or his beliefs were a threat to patient's safety.
He's going to continue fighting and appeal his case before a European court.
The Christian legal group supporting the doctor says his case could be a first of its kind where a judge has compelled speech for employment. Mackereth argued his case had important implications for everyone about freedom of speech and whether a court can compel an employee to use transgender pronouns.
"My case is not just about me. It's about all of us… And it would appear that the law has been left uncertain," he explained about the U.K. law.
"But essentially, it's about compelled speech. It's about freedom of speech. We should not be compelled to use transgender pronouns. We believe it is dishonest to do so, and that the legal situation needs to be clarified," he added.
Mackereth urged other medical professionals and Christians in particular to stand up for what they believe. He argued it was the duty of every Christian to "gently affirm the truth" on gender identity.
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"I believe that the medical profession and perhaps Christian doctors in particular, have got to do what's right. We've got to stand up because if we don't stand up, if we simply hide and dodge the bullet, so to speak, then we're going to be absolutely overwhelmed. So it's not just a question of can we survive this? We have to stand up, and we have to lovingly, kindly, graciously, gently affirm the truth that a person cannot change sex."
He added it was a Christian's duty to do so.
"And I believe that that is the duty of every Christian. It's the only way forward for us."