The Texas Legislature has passed a bill that strictly defines man and woman based on reproductive organs. The bill has no civil or criminal penalties attached, but instead will take these new definitions and apply them across state records.
When Gov. Greg Abbott signs House Bill 229, Texas will become the 14th state to implement one of these so-called “sex definition” laws in recent years. Supporters of the legislation say it’s necessary to protect women’s rights and spaces, and the immutable differences between the sexes.
Opponents say it’s an attack on trans people, erasing them from state records as the gender they identify as and forcing them to live as the sex they were assigned at birth. They criticize the bill as problematic for intersex people who are born with characteristics from both sexes.
But mostly, there’s widespread confusion about what will actually change as a result of this law.
“The question of the hour is how will [HB] 229 be enforced and applied,” said Sarah Corning with the ACLU of Texas. “What we do know is that it’s incredibly disrespectful to so many Texans the Legislature represents, and completely disregards their identity.”
What does the bill say?
The bill defines “female” and “woman” across the government code as an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova. A “male” and “man” are individuals whose systems are developed to fertilize the ova of a female.
After an amendment added in the House, the bill says intersex people are not considered a third sex, but “must receive accommodations in accordance with state and federal law.” All government entities are directed to collect data based on this binary.
The bill contains a legislative intent section which doesn’t change state statute but is included as guidance on interpreting the bill. It says that men and women possess “immutable biological differences,” including that women can get pregnant, give birth and breastfeed children, and men are, on average, bigger, stronger and faster than females. Women are more physically vulnerable to violence and have historically suffered discrimination, warranting the creation of single-sex spaces, like locker rooms, bathrooms, prisons and shelters.
It also says that “in the context of biological sex … separate is not inherently unequal.”
“With this bill, women and girls will know that Texas has their back and will not allow hard-fought rights to be eroded by activists who seek to erase them,” said bill author Rep. Ellen Troxclair, a Republican from Lakeway, in a statement. “There are pages and pages of references to ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in Texas code, which now refer to a specific, clear definition,”
Where did this legislation come from?
Since 2017, Texas lawmakers have been attempting to legislate strict applications of sex in specific zones, like school sports and bathrooms. Some of these proposals have gotten wide support from the Republican-dominated chambers, while others have stalled out amid partisan fighting.
In the last two years, however, state legislatures across the country have begun considering these sex definition laws, which have a more sweeping application across state statute. At least thirteen states have passed legislation like this, many, including Texas’, based on model language from a group called Independent Women’s Voice.
The national political advocacy group has support from conservative activists like Riley Gaines, who lost out on a fifth place swimming trophy to a trans athlete and has said she was exposed to male genitalia in a women’s locker room.
The push to strictly divide everyone into two sexes, male and female, based on biological differences, got a boost from President Donald Trump, who issued an executive order in January. Abbott followed suit, directing all state agencies to ensure that agency rules, internal policies, employment practices and other actions “comply with the law and the biological reality that there are only two sexes — male and female.”
Texas voters are, largely, on board with this type of legislation — seven in 10 voters, and 94% of Republicans, believe the sex listed on a birth certificate should be the only way to define gender.
Why are trans people worried about this bill?
More than 120,000 Texans identify as trans, meaning the gender they identify as differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Many of them have physically transitioned; some have obtained court orders to change their birth certificate or drivers’ licenses.
Abbott’s executive order, which was followed by an opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton, directed state agencies to no longer recognize those court orders. Lawyers representing trans people anticipate that the state will not go back and reissue documents, but rather require they be changed when they need to be renewed.
This will inevitably lead to mismatched documents, Shelly Skeen, a lawyer with Lambda Legal, said earlier this month. Someone who presents as a man but has a driver’s license that says they are female will have to out themselves every time identification is required. Plus, they may have other documents, like a passport, school records or medical documents that align with their gender identity, worsening the confusion, legal experts say.
Heather Clark, an Austin woman whose wife is transgender, told a Senate committee that it would be “untenable” for her to carry documents that said she was a man.
“Anytime that she is required to show her driver’s license, she could be compelled to explain why her appearance doesn’t align with her documentation,” Clark said, adding that could happen anytime she flew, took money from the bank, applied for a job or voted. “That creates ample daily opportunities for discrimination.”
Source: Texas Tribune BY Eleanor Klibanoff
Photo: Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune
