The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took action on two executive orders signed by President Trump aimed at protecting women and children on Wednesday, 19th of this month. The department only recognizes two genders, male and female, and has released definitions for gender.
“This administration is restoring common sense and the biological truth of the federal government,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “The previous administration’s attempts to incorporate gender ideology into every aspect of public life have come to an end.”
The HHS’s guidance on gender is as follows:
Gender is an unchangeable biological category of a person, either male or female.
Female refers to individuals with biological functions capable of producing eggs; male refers to individuals with biological functions capable of producing sperm.
Woman refers to adult females, girl refers to minor females. Man refers to adult males, boy refers to minor males.
Mother is a female parent, father is a male parent.
Former swimmer Riley Gaines competed against a male athlete who identified as female and used the same changing room. She stated that “banning males from participating in women’s sports will ensure future generations of girls have fair opportunities to compete and enjoy the safety, privacy, and equality they deserve”; President Trump’s executive orders send a powerful message that “we matter.”
President Trump issued an executive order last month on the 20th entitled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” It emphasizes that thinkers denying biological reality are increasingly using legal and other social coercive means, allowing males to self-identify as females and use female private spaces; “Evidence-based federal policy-making is crucial for scientific research, public safety, morale, and trust in the government itself.”
“The U.S. policy recognizes two genders, male and female, based on fundamental and undisputed reality,” the order also states that “gender identity” reflects a wholly internal and subjective self-awareness unrelated to biological reality and gender.
The executive order also requires accurate reflection of the holder’s gender when issuing identification documents, and federal funds must not be used to promote gender ideology.
Furthermore, Trump issued another executive order on the 28th of last month entitled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.” It addresses healthcare professionals nationwide engaging in harm and sterilization practices on vulnerable children, believing irreversible medical interventions can change gender; “This dangerous trend will become a stain on our nation’s history and must be stopped.”
The order explains that countless children regret transitioning, recognizing it as a terrible tragedy where they cannot conceive or breastfeed children, and may suffer from medical complications and increasing medical expenses for life. Therefore, “U.S. policy will neither fund, sponsor, promote, assist, nor support so-called ‘gender transition’ processes and will strictly enforce all laws prohibiting or restricting these destructive and life-altering procedures.”