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National Medical Commission junks guidelines that said sodomy, lesbianism are unnatural sexual offences
The National Medical Commission has withdrawn its 2024 CBME guidelines and promises to return with a revised version after facing backlash from activists
After sparking outrage, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has withdrawn their controversial Competency Based Medical Education Curriculum (CBME) guidelines for 2024, which listed lesbianism and sodomy as offenses, news agency ANI reported.
On Thursday, the country's apex medical body released a circular stating, "It is informed that the circular of even number dated August 31, 2024, thereby issuing guidelines under Competency Based Medical Education Curriculum (CBME) 2024, stands ‘withdrawn and cancelled’ with immediate effect."
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"The above guidelines will be revised and uploaded in due course. This issues with the approval of the competent authority," the NMC added.
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On August 31, the NMC released it's new CBME guidelines which were set to be implemented for MBBS students in the academic year 2024-25. However, they soon received backlash for the listing of lesbianism and sodomy as offenses in their forensic medicine and toxicology curriculum. They also referred to transgenderism as ‘sexual perversion’.
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The CBME also removed a seven-hour course surrounding training on disabilities and disability-friendly sections of their medical ethics course, according to The Indian Express.
Additionally, the guidelines caused an uproar due to the re-introduction of regressive concepts such as using the hymen to define virginity in medico-legal practices. Some of these changes had been removed from the curriculum in 2022 after directives by the Madras high court.
Doctors, disability rights activists and LGTBQIA+ activists expressed their anger at the new curriculum when it was first released.
Dr. Satendra Singh, co-chair of the International Council for Disability Inclusion in Medical Education, posted on X after the curriculum was released, “Why must doctors from the disability & trans community repeatedly take the NMC to court to ensure the implementation of laws already mandated.”
He was referring to a letter issued by NMC after directives given by the Madras and Kerala high courts in 2022, where the medical body had instructed all universities to not approve content that contained ‘unscientific, derogatory and discriminatory information on LGBTQ community'.
Dr Singh added in a post on X, after the curriculum was withdrawn, “The NMC curriculum has only been withdrawn for now. We must wait to see what's coming next and cannot afford to be complacent, as the NMC has a history of making multiple U-turns.”
