U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. has introduced the Defining Male and Female Act of 2024 which aims at codifying the legal definitions of male and female to ensure they are based on biology rather than ideology.
This new bill seeks to halt the push by the Biden-Harris Administration to include sexual orientation and gender identity under Title VII protections. While courts continue to deliberate the legality of the matter, the current administration took advantage of the ambiguity of the issue to further conflate sex and gender identity to nullify the legal rights of girls and women and even force faith-based organizations to provide transgender surgeries.
These actions have prompted calls, including by President-elect Donald Trump, to pass a bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the United States government are male and female-and they are assigned at birth. The Defining Male and Female Act answers this call, ensuring that no future administration can twist words to allow men to invade women’s spaces.
The bill clearly states that there are “two and only two—sexes: male and female, which refer to the two body structures (phenotypes) that, in normal development, correspond to one or the other gamete— sperm for males and ova for females. Every individual is either male or female.”
It further clarifies that “an individual’s sex can be observed or clinically verified at or before birth” and in no case can be determined by stipulation or self-identification.
Most importantly, it states that “with respect to the two sexes—male and female—separate facilities or sports leagues established because of or organized according to physical differences between the sexes do not constitute unequal treatment under the law. Physical differences between males and females are enduring, and the two sexes are not fungible.”
In an effort to prevent further efforts to undermine the longstanding meaning and understanding of sex, male and female, “it is necessary for Congress to reaffirm and codify the meaning of these terms.”
A female is “an individual who naturally has, had, will have, or would have, but for a developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fertilization,” and a male is an “individual who naturally has, had, will have, or would have, but for a developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fertilization,” according the bill.
This very important bill is co-sponsored in the Senate by Republican senators Mike Crapo (ID), James Risch (ID), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS). U.S. Representative Mary Miller (IL-15) introduced the House companion bill earlier this year.
“As a physician who has delivered over 5,000 babies, I can confidently say that politicizing children’s gender to use them as pawns in their radical woke agenda is not only wrong, it is extremely dangerous. I didn’t think we would need legislation to tell us that there are only two sexes: male and female, but here we are,” said Senator Marshall. “We must codify the legal definition of sex to be based on science rather than feelings. With our legislation, we can fight back against the Biden-Harris Administration’s assault on our children.”
Senator Marshall hosted a panel discussion on November 20 which focused on the physical and emotional dangers the left’s gender ideology imposes on America’s children.
“Today we brought together a coalition of voices to sound the alarm on the war being waged against our children and to talk about solutions. I am looking forward to unveiling a legislative solution in the coming weeks that will prevent doctors from engaging in child mutilation surgeries and end the Gender Industrial Complex cash cow from preying on our nation’s children,” Senator Marshall said.
One of the members of the panel was Independent Women’s Voice Ambassador and former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Paula Scanlan.
“It is so important to discuss the dangers of radical gender ideology, protecting women’s sports, and reclaiming the original intent of Title IX. Conversations like the one we had today are essential for advancing legislative solutions that uphold women’s privacy, safety, and opportunities. From what I have experienced, I know the importance of protecting women and girls.” Scanlan said.
The new bill is also supported by Heritage Action, Family Research Council, Concerned Women of America, and Alliance Defending Freedom.
“It’s a shame that we need legislation defining the difference between male and female, but the events of the past few years have shown us that we do. The false ideology of gender identity poses a threat to women everywhere,” said Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America LAC.
“From sports teams, locker rooms, women’s prisons, and even shelters for sexual abuse victims – all of these spaces are separated by sex for a reason, and yet gender ideology has allowed men to invade these vulnerable places. it is important for Congress to make clear that men and women are fundamentally different through the Defining Male and Female Act.”
Click here to read the bill in its entirety.
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