Ho Questions Health Agency on 'Pregnant People'
A Conservative MP pressed the Public Health Agency of Canada president on the definition of gender-neutral pregnancy language during a Commons committee meeting.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Pregnancy
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Should government health agencies use gender-neutral terms like 'pregnant people' in guidance?
Conservative MP Vincent Ho questioned Public Health Agency of Canada President Nancy Hamzawi on the definition of 'pregnant people' at a November 3 meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research. Hamzawi said a pregnant person is a person who is pregnant and that some pregnant people do not identify as women.
Why it matters
The exchange centres on how federal health guidance refers to pregnancy and birth, language that shapes public health communication. The questioning followed an April 2026 document recommending gender-neutral terms in vaccine guidance.
The NACI summary document, published in April 2026, recommends terms such as 'pregnant people' or 'pregnant individuals' and states that anatomy-based language was not assessed because it can be 'dehumanizing.' Hamzawi said the individual who gives birth is the birth parent of the child.
The players
Vincent Ho
Conservative Member of Parliament who questioned federal officials on gender and pregnancy terminology.
Nancy Hamzawi
President of the Public Health Agency of Canada, the federal body responsible for public health guidance.
The details
Ho asked whether the term 'birth parent' meant 'a mother.' Hamzawi declined to equate the two in the terms described in the extraction, instead stating the individual who gives birth is the birth parent.
Timeline
April 2026: NACI published its inclusive-language vaccine guidance summary.
June 2026: Ho questioned Mona Nemer and Mitch Davies on the definition of a woman.
November 3, 2026: Ho questioned Hamzawi at the Standing Committee meeting.
Political Context
Ho's line of questioning turns on the NACI inclusive-language document published in April 2026, which recommends gender-neutral terms in vaccine guidance. The document's stated reason for avoiding anatomy-based language, that it can be dehumanizing, is the point most directly contested in the committee exchange.
Federal vaccine and public health guidance uses the terms adopted in these documents, which can affect how pregnancy information is worded for Canadians. The committee exchange does not indicate any change to what care or information is available to pregnant people.
The takeaway
Federal health language on pregnancy is now under parliamentary review, and the wording used in official guidance is a live point of debate. Readers tracking health guidance can compare the published NACI and Public Health Agency documents directly.
Further reading
For related coverage of pregnancy and family health, see the Pregnancy section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Theepochtimes.
Live Poll
Should government health agencies use gender-neutral terms like 'pregnant people' in guidance?
