In the wake of the imprisonment of Carla Foster a motion was put to Sheffield Heely Labour party for the decriminalisation of abortion.
The motion included the sentence “It is vital that Labour collectively support progressive legislative change, including decriminalisation and reform to allow women and pregnant people to control their own bodies,” recognising that all pregnant people — including trans men and non-binary people — have a right to reproductive choice.
An amendment was put to delete the term “pregnant people”, on the grounds that it could be seen as “offensive”. The individual, of course, caveated this by saying they were not transphobic. They appealed for unity around the “most important issue” of abortion rights. Fortunately, the amendment was defeated and the motion was passed.
Shamefully, however, a minority voted against the motion as a whole once it was clear it would include the term. This illustrates the lie that the issue for transphobes is the "clash of women’s rights and trans rights." Where there was an opportunity to make a stand on womens’ rights and back trans rights, they chose their prejudice: the very definition of trans-exclusive.
A feminism that does not fight proactively for trans rights will leave women behind and become a defence campaign for those with the most power in our movement.