What is a “Woman”? Not only was this the title of a documentary produced by Conservative Media Commentator, Matt Walsh, but also the highlight moment during the questioning of the Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson by Sentor Marsha Blackburn in March 2022. To the world’s dismay, not even Mrs. Jackson could define a “woman” due to her lack of credentials; “I am not a biologist” she declared. Well, let’s hear from one. Colin Wright is an evolutionary biologist who addressed this question in an article published recently in the Wallstreet Journal:
“When biologists claim that sex is binary, we mean something straightforward: There are only two sexes. This is true throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. An organism’s sex is defined by the type of gamete (sperm or ova (egg cell)) that it has the function of producing. Males have the function of producing sperm, females, ova… Because there is no third gamete type, there are only two sexes. Sex is binary.” [1]
At Protect Our Kids, we know that science continues to advance, and that as new discoveries are made the scientific community wrestles with the evidence and adjusts their claims. However, when it comes to defining males and females biologically the science has long been settled. In fact, it has been settled for so long that virtually all people in all cultures at all times in human history have reached the same conclusion about the definition of males and females. It is strange to see the most advanced civilization in human history regress to such depths of imbicelity not seen since cavemen roamed the earth.
Dr. Stephen B. Levine, a psychiatrist and early proponent of transgender medical interventions, is one such activist who has changed his mind about the transgender movement’s unscientific pursuit. His activism at one point involved leading the prominent organization now called WPATH – the “World Professional Association for Transgender Health,” and was chairman of its “International Standard of Care Committee.” Since then, out of conscience, he has resigned his position and in Expert Testimony stated:
“Sex is not “assigned at birth” by humans visualizing the genitals of a newborn; it is not imprecise. Rather, it is clear, binary, and determined at conception. The sex of a human individual at its core structures the individual’s biological reproductive capabilities—to produce ova and bear children as a mother, or to produce semen and beget children as a father. As physicians know, sex determination occurs at the instant of conception, depending on whether a sperm’s X or Y chromosome fertilizes the egg.” [2]
Even the National Institute of Health website which makes the same scientific affirmation (apparently the Biden Administration forgot to scrub it).
“Sex is a biological classification, encoded in our DNA. Males have XY chromosomes, and females have XX chromosomes. Sex makes us male or female. Every cell in your body has a sex— making up tissues and organs, like your skin, brain, heart, and stomach. Each cell is either male or female depending on whether you are a man or a woman.” (NIH 2022.)
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[2] Doctors Back Florida Medicaid Rule on Experimental Gender Treatments (dailysignal.com)
Aside from the obvious, why else are these definitions important? In 1972, Congress passed Title IX to address sex discrimination and barriers that many women faced in education. One of the more surprising effects of this legislation was the subsequent expansion of women’s sports, which has given women numerous opportunities to compete, build confidence, and advance their education and career goals. More than 50 years later, however, the Biden administration is now trying to redefine “sex” and “sex discrimination” in federal law by expanding those terms to encompass “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”
For decades, Title IX has been hailed for banning “sex discrimination” in education. Now the meaning of the word “sex” is being called into question. Many, including the Biden administration, are wrongly advocating that “sex” also includes “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” In 2020, the Supreme Court erroneously ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that an employer who fires an individual merely for identifying as gay or transgender discriminates based on “sex” in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Until recent years, Title VII’s reference to “sex” had always meant one thing—biological sex. But the Supreme Court allowed courts and federal agencies to rewrite the law.
Now, the Biden administration is seeking to expand the Court’s ruling beyond employment discrimination and apply it to Title IX. At the time of its passage, Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1966) defined sex as “one of the two divisions of organic esp. human beings respectively designated male or female.”
Along with POK, our Friends at the Alliance Defending Freedom strongly oppose any effort to redefine sex in federal regulations inconsistent with the text of Title IX itself for several reasons:
- It lacks legal authority
Redefining “sex discrimination” is not authorized by Title IX’s text or Supreme Court precedent. Title IX deals with sex, not gender identity or sexual orientation. Likewise, the Bostock decision does not require reinterpreting “sex” under Title IX. The Court held that firing someone merely for identifying as gay or transgender violates Title VII, not Title IX. -
It hurts female athletes and jeopardizes women’s privacy
Redefining “sex discrimination” undermines fairness in women’s sports and diminishes women’s privacy and safety. ADF has represented multiple female athletes like Selina Soule and Chelsea Mitchell who have lost to male athletes in women’s sporting events. -
It undermines parental rights
Redefining “sex” to include gender identity undermines parental rights and exposes children to the risk of long-term harms. -
It harms women and unborn children and disregards medical ethics
While Title IX was explicitly written to be neutral regarding abortion, the Biden administration is seeking to change that. The administration is trying to redefine sex discrimination to encompass “termination of pregnancy” discrimination, which could open the door to creating federal rights to abortion in educational settings. -
It violates freedoms of speech and religion
Changing “sex” to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” threatens to censor and compel speech, trample religious exercise, subject students and faculty to campus kangaroo-court procedures, and imperil the educational mission of schools nationwide. Free speech is clearly threatened by the mandatory use of pronouns inconsistent with a person’s biological sex. Words matter, and redefining “sex” to include sexual orientation and gender identity necessarily implies a different message that many will not want to express.
We need our voices to be heard! Please consider submitting a comment before May 15, 2023 to the Department of Education in regards to their proposed rule change of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1972.
SUBMIT COMMENTS HERE: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/ED-2022-OCR-0143-0001
I’m Gheorghe Rosca, for Protect our Kids.
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