Rachel Clarke , specialty doctor in palliative medicine Oxfordshire rtsclarke{at}gmail.comFollow Rachel on Twitter @doctor_oxfordInnumerable aspects of England’s new secretary of state for health and social care, Thérèse Coffey, could instil anything from disquiet to dread in an NHS doctor. On women’s reproductive rights and a woman’s right to choose, Coffey has previously voted against extending access to abortion care. Does anyone, anywhere, feel complacent these days about a woman’s right to choose? But several features of the new health secretary simply should not, in 2022, be up for attack: her weight, size, appearance, and sex. Sneering at appearance is a gendered phenomenon, and women receive a vastly disproportionate number of attacks.

Source: The Times September 14, 2022 23:13 UTC