A Gold Coast mother has called out the Australian government after being referred to as a ‘birthing parent’ rather than a ‘mother’ on a healthcare form.
Sall Grover says she was shocked by the ‘alienating’ form that has been introduced in some hospitals as part of a trial to upload new baby details to Medicare.
Grover pointed out the form asked for the ‘birthing parent’s full name’ in one box and ‘birthing parent’s signature’ in another instead of mother – and shared an image of it on Twitter.
‘Attention women in Australia: On the form to put our newborn baby on our Medicare card, we are referred to as ‘birthing parent,’ Grover wrote.
‘Enough is enough. This absolute bull— is exclusionary, alienating and derogatory towards every woman wants to be and is called “mother.”
‘I know enough what is happening at the moment with women’s rights, and the erosion of our language and spaces, so I know where it’s coming from,’ she said.
‘The fact that it was on this government form saying ‘birthing parent’, shocked me.’
Sall Grover (pictured)told the Today Show hosts she was shocked by the new consent form which she described as
Ms Grover said ‘the term birthing parent isn’t inclusive of anyone, particularly women, adoptive mothers, stepmothers, gay men who are parents who have obviously not given birth’.
She claimed the new consent forms was simply to please fringe activists and lobbyists and said people who complained were slammed as ‘bigots’.
An emphatic Karl Stefanovic said he ‘couldn’t believe’ the form had been changed in the first place and described it as ‘bureaucracy gone crazy’.
‘Motherhood is about so much more than that, it is every other day from then, you have your first few days of excitement, being part of that and then you see “birthing parent”, are you reducing the role of me getting her here,’ Ms Grover replied.
She called on the people offended by the term ‘mother’ to ‘get help’.
An emphatic Karl Stefanovic (left) said he ‘couldn’t believe’ the form had been changed in the first place and described it as ‘bureaucracy gone crazy’.
The consent form (pictured) being trialed in some hospitals as a way to upload new baby details to Medicare asks for the name and signature of the newborn’s ‘birthing parent’
The Gold Coast mother posted a photo of the new consent form to Twitter on Tuesday and described it as ‘exclusionary, alienating and derogatory’
‘If the word “mother” bothers you so much, I mean motherhood is going to be quite a shock. Get help, go and deal with it if the word “mother” bothers’, she said.
Host Ally Langdon suggested to the people offended by the word ‘mother’ to replace it with ‘birthing parent’ but said she understood the other side.
‘I feel divide about it if I’m perfectly honest. As someone who does identify as a mother, I see that and it’s sort of-putting to see birthing parent,’ she said.
‘It’s dehumanising to me.
‘But I understand when the surrogate and, you know, it’s not one bill fits all.’
The new mother re-appeared on the Today Show after news broke the new consent forms had been dumped.
‘Since that interview went to air, Bill Shorten who is a regular on the show, has been in contact to confirm these forms have been dumped,’ Karl said.
‘Replaced with new ones that use the word “mother” not “birthing parent”.’
Ms Grover said it was ‘amazing news’.
‘I was actually just talking to my own mum about it and I was saying it’s awesome, fantastic. No complaint,’ she told the hosts.
‘It doesn’t take a genius to work out that it should have been “mother” all along.’
Ms Grover earlier this week posted a photo of the ‘dehumanising’ Medicare form to Twitter with the caption ‘enough is enough’.
‘This absolute bulls*** is exclusionary, alienating and derogatory towards every woman who wants to be and is called ‘mother’,’ she wrote.
Ms Grover (pictured) claimed the new consent forms was simply to please fringe activists and lobbyists and said people who complained were slammed as ‘bigots’
Ms Grover likened the title ‘birthing parent’ as something from the Handmaids Tale (pictured)
While the new mum received an outpour of support from other users, some pointed out that is was just one form that had previously alienated other groups like same-sex couples, adopted parents and surrogates.
‘Your kid will call you mother, as will countless other people,’ one user said.
‘One form that uses inclusive language is not erasing/stealing your rights/whatever other nonsense you’re suggesting.
‘Why is it ok to alienate other groups to keep you happy?’
‘OMG, so triggered by having “birthing parent” printed on a form because the mother is… the parent who is giving birth,’ another wrote.
Twitter users pointed out that the form alienated groups like same-sex couples and surrogates
Some Twitter users pointed out it was just one form and that children weren’t being forced to call their mothers ‘birthing parents’
‘It removes ambiguity for situations with: lesbian couples, surrogate pregnancy, non-cis parents, adopted parents, and so many more situations.
‘By using ‘birthing parent’, it neatly and simply clarifies specifically which person they need the signature from.’
However others agreed that the words ‘birthing parent’ had no place on the form.
‘Disgraceful. Becoming a mother was the most special time of my entire existence. It re-defined everything I thought I knew about myself,’ one wrote.
‘Let us call ourselves MOTHERS! Cross it out and put “mother”.’
Anyone coming across this on forms should cross out the offending words & put MOTHER in block capitals,’ another agreed.
‘If there is space, write on the form, saying that their description is offensive to women. This has come about because a tiny minority have banged on about being offensive.’
