RFK Jr’s first move as Health Secretary sparks outrage from transgender advocates

Robert F Kennedy Jr has taken aim at transgender language in one of his first acts as health secretary.

His new agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, released new guidance for the government and public that gives a narrower definition of sex.

The February 19 memo states that the move will support the President’s executive orders intended to ‘restore the concept of biological truth in federal government and defend women’. 

The new HHS document says only two sexes will be recognized: male and female. 

It also provides new, narrow definitions of words like ‘sex,’ ‘female,’ ‘woman,’ ‘girl,’ male,’ ‘man’, ‘boy’, ‘mother’ and ‘father’.

RFK Jr, a former Democrat, said: ‘The prior administration’s policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over.’

The department also launched a website promoting these definitions and created a video defending a ban on transgender women participating in women’s sports.

The move was prompted by Trump’s January 20 executive order titled ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.’

That order required the HHS to provide ‘clear guidance expanding on the sex-based definitions set forth in the order’ within 30 days.

As a part of the new HHS guidance, sex is defined as ‘a person’s immutable biological classification as either male or female’. 

A male is described as a ‘person of the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing sperm’ in the guidelines. 

While a female is a ‘person of the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing eggs (ova)’. 

It also defined woman as ‘an adult human female’ and man as ‘an adult human male’ 

However, multiple medical experts and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have long argued that there are more than two sexes in existence particularly those who identify as intersex and transgender.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has previously noted that some people are intersex and have sexual anatomy or chromosomes that do not fit typical definitions of male and female.

It defines sex as a label generally ‘male’ or ‘female’ that is typically assigned at birth on the basis of genetic characterstics such as genital anatomy, chromosomes, and sex hormone levels. 

It also defines the term transgender as a ‘subset of gender-diverse youth whose gender identity does not match their assigned sex and generally remains persistent, consistent and insistent over time’.

According to UCLA’s Williams Insitute, about 1.6 million Americans over the age of 13 identify as transgender – out of which about 1.3 million are adults. 

The institute also reports that 39 percent of Americans identify as a transgender woman while 36 percent identify as transgender men. 

The February 19 memo states that the move will support the President’s executive orders intended to ‘restore the concept of biological truth in federal government and defend women’

About 1.6 million Americans over the age of 13 identify as transgender – out of which about 1.3 million are adults

Matthew Rose, a senior public policy advocate at Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group told the Washington Post: ‘It’s deeply concerning that, at a time when thousands of federal health employees are being abruptly laid off without explanation and multiple public health crises break out across the country, HHS is instead focusing its time and taxpayer dollars on anti-science, anti-health PR campaigns. 

‘This approach is not only ignorant; it’s deliberately harmful.’ 

Maurine Neiman, a University of Iowa professor who has studied the biology of reproduction for 25 years also explained to the New York Times: ‘While there are some areas of active debate, scientists are in wide agreement that biological sex in humans as well as the rest of life on earth is much more complicated than a simple binary.’ 

Neiman also pointed out that there are people who are considered intersex, meaning their sex characteristics do not fit a female/male sex binary.

‘While these cases are a minority, sex is legitimately difficult to assign for close to two percent of the US population.

‘We can find real exceptions in real people to whatever rule we might apply to define sex, whether it be sex chromosomes, the size of reproductive cells, hormone levels, internal organs or genitals,’ she said. 

The HHS also released a new web page titled ‘Protecting Women and Children,’ with a banner video by former swimmer Riley Gaines. 

‘The executive order ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ ensures the next generation of girls has a fair opportunity to compete with the safety, privacy, and equal opportunity they’re entitled to. 

‘The clarity and decisiveness of the Trump administration sends a strong, clear message to women and girls across the country that we matter,’ she said. 

Earlier this month, Gaines was seen leading a new ad campaign for XX-XY Athletics calling for trans women to be banned from competing against women.