Last updated on July 20th, 2023 at 03:11 am
Dr. David Mackereth, a seasoned Christian medical professional, was wrongly terminated for choosing honesty and his religious conviction over the enforced rhetoric of gender ideology. In 2019, after serving as an emergency room doctor in the United Kingdom for 26 years, Mackereth was dismissed for refusing to participate in a training exercise that required him to use a hypothetical transgender patient’s preferred pronouns, a stance that was rooted in his Christian beliefs. His employer erroneously labeled this refusal as “harassment” under the U.K. Equality Act of 2010 and fired him.
Mackereth emphasized that his commitment to providing equal treatment to all his patients was unwavering. However, he believed that the demand to use chosen pronouns was a deceptive practice, which could inevitably compromise the quality of healthcare. The doctor, in defense of his stance, stated, “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.”
Following his unjust dismissal, Mackereth launched a religious discrimination lawsuit against his former employer. Unfortunately, the Employment Tribunal dismissed his claim, ruling that his Biblically-inspired views on gender were “incompatible with human dignity”. This verdict was a shocking dismissal of Christian values and essentially called into question the validity of the U.K.’s Equality Act, which purports to shield citizens from harassment or discrimination based on their religious beliefs, gender identity, among other characteristics.
While the decision was partially overturned by the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the initial ruling was disturbingly upheld by the Court of Appeal. This outcome, Mackereth highlighted, effectively rendered Christianity irrelevant in the modern world. Despite the pervasiveness of transgender ideology in the West, he insisted on the importance of truth and the impossibility of sex change, thus affirming his duty as a Christian doctor to uphold honesty in his practice.
Mackereth’s case, supported by the Christian Legal Centre, is potentially unprecedented where a court enforces speech as a condition of employment. He rightfully argued that his case has broader implications for everyone regarding freedom of speech and whether an employer can mandate the use of transgender pronouns. As he continues his legal battle, appealing his case before a European court, Mackereth calls on fellow medical professionals and Christians to uphold the truth about gender identity, emphasizing that “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.”