NMC asks medical colleges to remove discriminatory content against LGBTQIA+ in MBBS textbooks

NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission has issued an advisory regarding the issue of LGBTQIA community and important changes in the competencies of CBME (Competency-based medical education) curriculum. As per the advisory, the scientific books should not be biased against the LGBTQIA+ community.

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“It has been noted that the various textbooks of medical education mainly of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology subject and Psychiatry Subject contain unscientific information about virginity and also contain derogatory remarks against LGBTQIA+ community and homosexuals,” NMC said in a statement.

NMC has issued guidelines for medical colleges, universities, and institutions with regards to the order issued by the Madras high court in writ petition filed by two NGOs.

The guidelines issued by NMC are:

• While teaching students from UG and PG courses, whenever the issue of gender or any similar kind arises, the mention of clinical history, complaints, signs, symptoms, history about nomenclature, examination findings, and any clinical history should not be taught in a way that is derogatory, discriminatory, or insulting to the LGBTQIA+ community.
• All the authors of Medical Textbooks should amend information about virginity, LGBTQIA+ community, and homosexuals etc. in the textbooks. The amendment should be done according to the available scientific literature, directions passed by the Courts and the guidelines that have been issued by the government.
• All the medical colleges, universities, and institutions.should not approve any book that has unscientific, derogatory or discriminatory information about virginity, homosexuals, and LGBTQIA+ community

Earlier, in September, the Kerala High Court asked the medical education regulatory authority, the National Medical Commission (NMC) and Undergraduate Medical Education Board to consider removing unscientific, derogatory comments about the queer community from MBBS textbooks.

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The High Court acted after two NGOs, Queerythm and Disha, filed a writ petition seeking removal of the discriminatory content.