The Scottish Government, led by the Scottish National Party (SNP), intends to defend the rights of “pregnant” men and “lesbians” born male in the UK’s highest court TOMORROW – in a landmark case on the definition of a woman

Scottish National Party ministers will argue for the rights of “pregnant” men and “male-born” lesbians at Britain’s highest court tomorrow in a landmark case about the definition of womanhood.

A Supreme Court hearing will decide whether biology or bureaucracy is key, with far-reaching implications for women-only spaces and services.

Feminist group For Women Scotland (FWS) is challenging the Scottish Government’s legislative guidance on the definition of woman associated with the 2018 Holyrood Act.

The Gender Representation on Public Councils Act was intended to create a 50:50 balance between women and men on quango councils.

It defined a woman as “any person living as a woman”, including biological males with or without a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) indicating that they are female. The FWS successfully challenged the decision in the Scottish courts, arguing that it contravened the Westminster Equality Act.

SNP ministers removed the definition from their legislation but issued revised guidance which still states that “woman” includes a trans woman with a GRC.

The FWS is appealing to the High Court in London.

Five judges, including Scottish Chief Justice Lord Reed, will decide whether a person with a GRC that says they are female is a woman for the purposes of the UK Equality Act 2010.

Scottish ministers will argue that such a person is a woman. In a 40-page statement, ministers insist that the reference to a pregnant woman in the Equality Act also applies to a “pregnant man” who is born a woman.

They also state that it would be unlawful for an association of “lesbian women” to exclude a person with a full GRC in the acquired “female” gender who was attracted to women.”

The Equality Act says female “means a woman of any age” and the FWS says this means it is based on biological sex rather than a “slightly administrative one”.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has given £70,000 to a crowdfunder for the FWS campaign, which has so far raised £200,000. Last week she said: “If a man is a woman, there is no woman.”

Susan Smith of the FWS said the court’s decision will have huge consequences.

She told The Mail: “If we win, we will have a very clear picture of who will be protected and when. If we lose, it will become virtually impossible to keep many places and services women-only, or even men-only, and Westminster will have a real mess to clean up.

“You can’t get a certificate saying you’re a different age or have a disability that you don’t have, so ministers will have to think about why sex is protected in the first place.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are unable to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Scotland’s national death certificates may record deaths of “men” from cervical cancer and “women” from testicular cancer according to gender identity rather than sex at birth.

The recorded sexes are then included in official statistics used by health experts.