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News > World

US Trans Rights Under Threat Amid Push to Redefine Gender

  • The National Center for Transgender Equality warned that limiting gender identification will put the lives of millions of people at risk.

    The National Center for Transgender Equality warned that limiting gender identification will put the lives of millions of people at risk. | Photo: Reuters

Published 21 October 2018
Opinion

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is pushing to redefine gender identification in the United States.

A memo from the Trump administration seeks to limit gender identification to male or female, making it unchangeable from the moment of birth, the New York Times reported Sunday.

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A statement released from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated: “Sex means a person’s status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth.

“The sex listed on a person’s birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person’s sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence,” the memo read.

Reversing gender-rights policies introduced under the Obama administration, not to mention the dozens of federal health and education courses could strip some 1.4 million U.S. citizens of their human rights and recognition of the state.

The announcement triggered outrage across the media.

Democratic Virginia House Delegate Danica Roem, the state's first transgender representative, wrote on her personal Twitter account: “Singling out and stigmatizing your transgender constituents isn’t just the antithesis of constituent service; it’s dangerous and gets us killed. I shouldn’t have to have more faith in @LambdaLegal than the POTUS to prevent this horror show but here we are.”


The National Center for Transgender Equality tweeted, “Make no mistake, trans people are under direct attack from the Trump Administration - but we #WontBeErased. We're here. You can't define us out of existence. Join us for a rally at the White House tomorrow.”

Activists will march down D.C.’s Pennsylvania Avenue, just meters from the White House from 12:30 to 1:30. Over 550 people are expected to participate, per the Facebook announcement.

"An attempt to put restraints on the lives of 2 million people, effectively abandoning our right to equal access to health care, to housing, to education, or to fair treatment under the law," said the National Center for Transgender Equality.

The HHS plans to pitch the new legal amendment to the Justice Department by January. If approved, the change will be implemented into Title IX laws, which protect against gender discrimination, as well as government agencies such as the Department of Education, Justice, Health and Human Services, and Labor.

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