HHS affirms two sexes, defines 'woman'
The Health and Human Services (HHS) Department issued guidance on Wednesday affirming the existence of only two sexes and the idea that life begins at conception.
“There are only two sexes, female and male, because there are only two types of gametes,” the guidance declared. “An individual human is either female or male based on whether the person is of the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing eggs (ova) or sperm.”
The statement aligns with President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting gender ideology in the federal government and confirming that male and female are the only sexes.
Pro-life advocates also praised the guidance for confirming that “[T]he sex of a human, female or male, is determined genetically at conception (fertilization), and is observable before birth.”
The memo also defined gendered terms like “woman,” which the Biden administration had erased because it was unable to define them. The HHS, currently under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, now acknowledges that a woman is an adult human female.
Former HHS secretary unable to say ‘mother’
Kennedy’s predecessor, Xavier Becerra, could not say “woman” or “mother.” This was revealed during a Senate Finance Committee meeting when Senator James Lankford (R-OK) confronted Becerra about his removal of the word “mother” from the HHS budget.
“I also notice you changed a term in your budget where you shifted in places from using the term ‘mother’ to ‘birthing people’ rather than ‘mother,’” said Lankford. “Can you help me get a good definition of ‘birthing people?’”
That was when Becerra found he was unable to say “mother.”
“Well, I’ll check on the language there, but I think if we’re talking about those who give birth I think we’re talking about —” Unable to bring himself to say “mothers,” Becerra grinned, “I don’t know how else to explain it to you other than . . .” at which point he simply petered out, looking confused.
The exchange continued, with Lankford pointing out to Becerra that the term “birthing people” is offensive to mothers.
“I definitely get that. I would only say the language is important always. We don’t want to offend in our language. I get that,” Lankford said. “But would you at least admit calling a mom a ‘birthing person’ could be offensive to some moms? They don’t want to get like a ‘Happy Birthing Person’ card in May. Can you at least admit that term itself could be offensive to some moms?”
But Becerra wouldn’t relent, instead insisting on being “precise.”
“Senator, I’ll go back and take a look at the terminology that was used and I can get back to you, but again, if we’re trying to be precise in the language that’s used.”
After the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade months later, Becerra regained his ability to say female-specific words to promote abortion.
"This is a critical moment in history," he said in a statement. "How we respond will speak to how we view the rights, dignity and well-being of women everywhere. This is a moment of crisis in healthcare. We will leave no stone unturned. All options are on the table. We will do everything within the legal limit of the law to reach patients and support providers."
