Madras HC Orders Removal Of Unscientific Remarks On LGBTQIA+ Community From Medical Syllabus

The National Medical Council (MNC) has taken a landmark measure as it issued a directive asking all medical colleges/universities and establishments to remove remarks on the queer community from the syllabus, following a high court order.

The Madras High Court had issued orders to the NMC to clear up the medical syllabus under the Central Board of Medical Education (CBME) curriculum and remove any derogatory or unscientific remarks in regards to the LGBTQIA+ community.

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Justice N Anand Venkatesh of the Madras high court earlier this year made a milestone judgment to stop the harassment of same-sex couples by the police.

What the advisory said

¡°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 derogatory remarks against the LGBTQIA+ community,¡± the advisory said.

PTI

It has also ordered all institutions teaching medicine to UG and PG students that whenever the issue of gender or similar kind arises while teaching, ¡°the mention of clinical history or complaints, or signs or symptoms, examination findings or history about nomenclature shall not be taught in such a way that it becomes or is perceived as derogatory or discriminatory or insulting to the LGBTQIA+ community.¡±

The advisory asks all authors of medical textbooks to amend the information about virginity and the LGBTQIA+ community in their books as per the available scientific literature and guidelines.