The government of US President Donald Trump is attempting to strip transgender people of official recognition by creating a definition of gender as being only male or female, and unchangeable once it is determined at birth, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has undertaken an effort across several departments, including Education, Justice and Labor, to establish a legal definition of sex under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that bans discrimination on the basis of sex, the Times said, citing a government memo it obtained.
That definition would be as either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by the genitals a person is born with, the Times reported.
A draft of the memo, which has been circulating since the spring, says gender should be determined “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable,” the Times reported.
“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 says.
Such an interpretation would reverse the expansion of transgender rights that took place under the administration of then-US president Barack Obama.
Officials at the department have argued that “sex” was never meant to include gender identity, so the Obama administration’s moves to allow individuals to define themselves as anything other than their birth gender was illegitimate, the Timessaid
The newspaper said that psychiatrists no longer consider being transgender a disorder and courts have found the Obama interpretation of protecting transgender people against discrimination to be sound, but the Trump administration has chosen to abide by a 2016 ruling by US District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas.
A HHS spokeswoman declined to comment on “allegedly leaked documents,” but cited a ruling by a US district judge as a guide to transgender policy.
The Obama administration enacted regulations and followed court rulings that protected transgender people.
The Trump administration has sought to ban transgender people from military service and rescinded guidance to public schools recommending that transgender students be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice.
The US Department of State under Trump has not filled a position created by former secretary of state John Kerry of a special envoy advocating LGBTQ rights around the world.
Meanwhile, a leading transgender advocate called the government’s reported action a “super aggressive, dismissive, dangerous move.”
“They are saying we don’t exist,” National Center for Transgender Rights (NCTE) director Mara Keisling said.
NTCE called for a protest march down Pennsylvania Ave in Washington to the White House to being about noon yesterday.
Additional reporting by AFP and the Guardian
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft