Replace 'hysterectomy' with 'uterectomy' in NHS patient materials

Background

Direct NHS England to adopt 'uterectomy' as the primary term in all patient-facing materials, consent forms and clinical guidelines, replacing 'hysterectomy' - a term we believe is rooted in misogyny, not anatomy.

Additional details

For many people hysterectomy is associated with hysteria - a diagnosis used to pathologise women, removed as an official diagnosis only in 1980. The International Federation of Associations of Anatomists has recommended removing eponyms like this. Research shows one in five people don't know hysterectomy means uterus removal, compromising informed consent for women. In our view, this is medical misogyny in language. Women deserve clarity about what is happening to their bodies and terminology that respects them.

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