An NHS trust has sparked fury after a leaked letter revealed drug-induced milk from transgender women who were born male is just as good for babies as a women's breast milk.
The Medical Director of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust described both as "human milk", adding that they are the "ideal food for infants".
An NHS trust has sparked fury after a leaked letter revealed drug-induced milk from transgender women who were born male is just as good for babies as a women's breast milkGettyThe letter comes in response to a campaign group's complaint about the Trust's gender policies.
Campaigners have protested against the practice of "induced lactation" - medication which enables trans women to simulate breastfeeding.
The Medical Director of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust described both as 'human milk', adding that they are the 'ideal food for infants'
Getty
In the letter, the Medical Director claims "there is clear and overwhelming evidence that human milk is the ideal food for infants", in reference to both breast milk and the "induced lactation" of biological men.
The NHS trust adds that the term "human milk" is "meant to be neutral and is not gender-biased".
The letter has received backlash as Labour MP Rosie Duffield warns of the "ethics of untested chemicals in children".
"Babies can't be used as guinea pigs for someone else's lifestyle choice," she told the Daily Mail.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
"When a man has not and cannot grow a baby, why on earth are we pandering to this? Who does it benefit? Not the children. We wouldn't do any other medical experiments on babies. Breast milk made by a baby's biological mother is tailor-made for that baby."
The document was unveiled as part of a report by the think-tank Policy Exchange.
Lottie Moore, the organisation's Head of Equality and Identity, said: "This letter is unbalanced and naive in its assertion that the secretions produced by a male on hormones can nourish an infant in the way a mother's breast milk can."
Explaining its policies, the Trust made reference to a five-month study in 2022 which measured "infant milk testosterone concentrations" and found "no observable infant side effects" on babies of lactating transgender women.
University Hospitals Sussex Trust is a member of Stonewall's controversial "Diversity Champions" programme.
But the Trust has rejected accusations by campaigners that its policies are "clearly biased towards the demands of trans people rather than the wellbeing of children".
A spokesman said: "We stand by the facts of the letter and the cited evidence supporting them."