Biological sex is the sole basis for defining the words “male,” “female,” “father,” and “mother,” according to new guidance published Wednesday afternoon by the Department of Health and Human Services.
In line with President Donald Trump’s Day One executive order defining male and female on an individual’s reproductive cells, or gametes, HHS issued guidance defining sex as “a person’s immutable biological classification as either male or female” based upon the respective production of sperm or eggs.
The measure came as a massive sea change from the leadership of former President Joe Biden, whose administration held that self-defined gender identity was more important, both personally and legally, than biological sex.
“This administration is bringing back common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government,” newly confirmed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a press release Wednesday. “The prior administration’s policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over.”
Transgender matters became a significant part of the 2024 presidential campaign, with Trump highlighting how his opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, supported government-funded transgender medical treatments for trans-identified inmates in prisons.
Shortly into his current term, Trump signed an executive order federally banning transgender medical procedures for minors, instructing HHS to examine agency and subagency level mechanisms to “end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children,” including potentially changing the conditions of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for doctors and hospitals.
In addition to defining male and female based on reproductive anatomy, the HHS guidance defines “mother” as “a female parent” and father as “a male parent,” as well as “boy” and “girl” as minors of their respective sexes.
The HHS guidance also defines “woman” as “an adult human female” and “male” as “an adult human male.”
These definitions are in stark contrast to HHS policy even two years ago, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received blowback from GOP conservatives for its guidance on so-called “chestfeeding,” as opposed to breastfeeding, to be inclusive of trans-identified patients.
The definitions have clear implications for a host of HHS policies, especially in clinical settings, said Dr. Dorothy Fink, deputy assistant secretary for the Office on Women’s Health.
“In health care, sex distinctions can influence disease presentation, diagnosis, and treatment differently in females and males,” Fink said in Wednesday’s press release. “HHS recognizes that biological differences between females and males require sex-specific practices in medicine and research to ensure optimal health outcomes.”
As part of the guidance, HHS launched a new website titled “Protecting Women and Children,” which includes information on Trump’s executive order on transgender medical treatments for minors.
The webpage also includes specific health tips for female athletes, who often deal with different biological challenges compared to males, and women’s health clinical trials.
The new Trump administration’s efforts to define biological sex have influenced more than just the medical field, sending shockwaves through the scientific community as well.
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In response to Trump’s Day One biological sex executive order, three prominent evolutionary biology organizations sent a public letter to the president saying biological sex “is not a binary trait” but rather a combination of chromosomes, hormones, and a host of other identifying characteristics.
Prominent atheist thinkers Richard Dawkins and Jerry Coyne have joined a sizable group of scientists to disagree with the evolutionary science organizations and back the Trump administration’s definition, saying sex is “universally defined by gamete type.”