Scientific books should not be biased to LGBTQIA+ community: NMC

NMC has advised medical colleges to ensure the scientific books are not biased against the LGBTQIA+ community.

National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued an advisory for medical universities, colleges and institutions. It suggests that they must ensure that the scientific course books are not biased against the LGBTQIA (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) +  community and do not contain any derogatory comments.
The NMC advisory reads, "It has been noted that the various textbooks of medical education mainly of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology subject and Psychiatry subject contains unscientific information about virginity and also contains derogatory remarks against LGBTQIA+ Community and homosexuals."
The advisory has been issued with regards to the Madras High Court direction in writ petition number 7284 of 2021. On June 7, 2021, Madras HC passed a judgement to ban any kind of medical attempt to cure or change the sexual orientation of a person. 
The Madras HC judgment under Justice N Anand Venkatesh issued many guidelines for safeguarding people of the LGBTQIA+ community and preventing them from harassment by the authorities. As per the judgement, the teaching in the medical colleges should not be discriminatory or insulting to the LGBTQIA+ community. While teaching whenever the issue of gender comes, it should be handled sensitively. 

The authors of medical books should amend information related to the LGBTQIA+ community and virginity as per the court's guidelines and any book with unscientific comments on these topics should not be approved by any medical universities, colleges and institutions.

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