Disenfranchisement in British Healthcare: Being a Lesbian Non-Biological Mother

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) parents are fearful of discrimination and a lack of acceptance when accessing healthcare for their children. Despite government recommendations, policy and law, stories of inappropriate questioning and parental exclusion point towards the prevalence of homophobia in the National Health Service (NHS). Lesbian mothers report ingrained homophobia and a heteronormative culture, which leaves them unable to ‘fit’ into the box of motherhood and they are therefore disenfranchised in healthcare.

This paper draws upon self-narratives from a wider study that has raised various commonalties around being a non-biological mother and the rhetoric, language and behaviours encountered within British healthcare.