Reposted by Dr Patricia Hamilton
Surveys are important for miscarriage research, yet questionnaire design and sample characteristics can influence reported miscarriage prevalence
We compared miscarriage reporting across British surveys with @mccompans.bsky.social & @heinivaisanen.bsky.social - take a look at our pre-print here ⬇️
![21. The Independent Expert was particularly alarmed by a 3 April 2023 letter from the Equalities and
Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to the Minister for Equalities, by which it advised that defining the
term “sex” as “biological sex” under the Equality Act would “bring greater legal clarity” to the
implementation of the Act. In contrast, the Scotland Committee of the EHRC had itself on 28 February
2023 expressed concerns it did “not consider sufficient evidence has been presented to justify amending
the definition of legal sex in the EqA [Equality Act] 2010 to biological sex at this time”, noting that “the
Board should consider the risk to our perceived political independence if we are perceived to be aligning
with Government in the absence of robust evidence. This is a potential existential risk that such a
perception could risk the Commission’s existence going forward.” Additionally, the committee indicated
there had been no clear demonstration of a legal need or legitimate aim, even though “changing the
definition of sex could diminish trans people’s rights; for example, legal colleagues advised that, if the
proposed change were implemented, obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate would no longer change
a person’s sex in discrimination law. The Committee considered the Commission should be advancing the
rights of minorities and not potentially diminishing rights for some groups.”
22. In a meeting with the EHRC on 4 May 2023, the Independent Expert was shocked to hear that the
EHRC offered that advice without itself having any definition of ‘biological sex’; UK law provides no
such definition either. The EHRC however specifically conceded that, in the context of the letter, the
intended meaning of the term “biological sex” is to define women as “women who are not trans.” As one](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:pipsd3tlfy2fvzrg6rjedqgn/bafkreihs73eod2rmi3otdukcbhzlzhfy4hmysr4vc3qdkvilw5ugbjyuze)
