A Christian doctor (pictured) is waiting for the Employment Appeal Tribunal to rule that belief in Genesis 1:27 is compatible with human dignity.
Back in 2019, in a shocking decision, an employment judge ruled that Dr David Mackereth’s belief in Genesis 1:27 is ‘incompatible with human dignity’.
The case dates back to 2018 when Dr Mackereth – an A&E doctor with 28 years’ experience – was sacked as a medical assessor for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after refusing to identify clients by their chosen gender instead of their biological sex.
He took the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to court, claiming they had breached his right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.
An employment tribunal considered his case in 2019 and heard that Dr Mackereth refused to refer to ‘any 6ft-tall bearded man’ as ‘madam’. But the tribunal dismissed his case, ruling that the DWP had not discriminated against him.
Belief in Genesis
In the 2019 ruling, the employment tribunal stated, ‘belief in Genesis 1:27, lack of belief in transgenderism and conscientious objection to transgenderism, in our judgment are incompatible with human dignity and conflict with the fundamental rights of others, specifically here, transgender individuals.’
Genesis 1:27 says, ‘So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.’
Dr Mackereth’s legal team has now had a hearing at the Employment Appeal Tribunal, following Maya Forstater’s landmark win in June 2021 at the same legal stage.
Finding in favour of Forstater, Mr Justice Choudhury ruled that the original tribunal had ‘erred in law’ when it judged her belief that sex is assigned at birth as ‘incompatible with human dignity.’
It is hoped the ruling in the Forstater case will be helpful in the Mackereth appeal.
Speaking ahead of his appeal hearing, Dr Mackereth said, ‘My case affects everyone, not just me and Bible-believing Christians, but anyone who is concerned by compelled speech and transgender ideology being enforced on the NHS and other public services.
‘The judgment from two years ago said to Christians, “You have to believe in transgender ideology.” That is totalitarianism. It made out Christianity to be nothing, the Bible to be nothing. That cannot be allowed to stand
