President Trump signed executive orders on Monday assuring that the US government recognizes this only two genders that are “unchangeable” and reverse the Biden administration’s policies on LGBTQ+ rights.
One of the new regulations states that “male” and “female” are defined based on a person's reproductive cells and at the time of conception, and states that government-issued identification cards such as passports and visas must reflect this definition. In recent years, the U.S. had begun allowing people to select a third option, X, on passports to indicate an unspecified or different gender identity.
Trump's directive also calls on federal agencies to eliminate any statements or policies “that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology,” which it describes as “an ever-changing concept of self-assessed gender identity that allows for the false assertion that men are “As and can identify” women are defined and vice versa.”
Federal authorities will enforce “laws regulating gender-based rights, protections, opportunities, and accommodations for the protection of men and women as biologically distinct sexes.” command States said such measures were necessary to prevent men from gaining access to women's “intimate same-sex spaces.”
It also directs federal officials to ensure that people it defines as men are not housed in women's prisons or detention centers. Additionally, the executive order calls on the attorney general to block the use of federal funds for medical treatment or gender reassignment procedures for prisoners.
Kellan Baker, executive director of the Institute for Health Research & Policy at Whitman-Walker, an organization focused on LGBTQ+ health equity, noted that the order appears to make no distinction based on whether someone is seeking a medical transition or is Identity changed documents.
“It appears to be trying to wave a federal policy magic wand and make transgender people disappear — which is an impossibility,” Baker said.
Baker said the changes in detention policy are not immediate and must come through the federal rulemaking process. But if it comes to pass, he said, the move could put transgender people in federal custody, particularly transgender women, in serious danger.
Trump also made an about-face as part of a broader order that rolled back dozens of executive orders issued under then-President Biden Orders To LGBTQ+ rightincluding one that directed the heads of federal agencies to review their rules against gender discrimination to ensure that people are treated equally under the law “regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.”
The Trump administration is likely to face challenges because of executive actions. Kevin Jennings, executive director of the LGBTQ+ civil rights organization Lambda Legal, said in a statement that many of the changes called for in the executive orders will take time to implement, but “we will monitor them closely and be prepared to challenge them if implemented.” “Effect.”
“We are exploring all legal options to address these illegal and unconstitutional actions,” Jennings said.
During his campaign, Trump attacked “left-wing gender madness” and criticized then-Vice President Kamala Harris over the idea of offering gender-equitable care to federal inmates. He said he would push to block the use of federal funds for medical care related to gender reassignment, including surgical procedures.
Trump also said he would seek to exclude health care providers from the Medicaid and Medicare programs if they offer gender-inclusive care to teenagers, which he called “mutilation” – a move that experts say could cut off hospitals and clinics from critical streams of federal funding.
The executive order issued Monday does not comprehensively address medical care related to gender reassignment beyond restrictions for prisoners, although experts said changes in the interpretation of sex discrimination laws weaken protections for transgender patients could. The Biden administration had already started before Federal regulations which provided comprehensive protection against discrimination based on gender identity by government-funded health care institutions.
The American Medical Assn. has expressed his support for improving access to gender-affirming care, she called it “an important means of improving health outcomes for the transgender population” and said she supports both public and private insurance coverage for gender dysphoria treatment. The American Psychological Assn. has too rejected bans to such care.