HHS issues guidance recognizing ‘male and female’ as only sexes

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that the agency has issued guidance recognizing only two sexes.

In the announcement HHS said the agency released guidance to the federal government and the public building upon President Donald Trump’s executive order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” That order states it is the “policy” of the U.S. to “recognize two sexes, male and female.”

HHS’s guidance, according to the agency, recognizes “male and female” as the only sexes. The agency said it will also “promote policies” which acknowledge “women are biologically female and men are biologically male.”

“This administration is bringing back common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement. “The prior administration’s policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over.”

HHS noted in the announcement the agency also launched a web page Wednesday to “promote guidance on sex-based definitions and other resources on efforts to protect women and children.” The web page features a video of women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines discussing Trump’s executive order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

“Recognizing biological differences between men and women is crucial to protecting women’s sports,” Gaines says in the video. “It also protects the privacy of women in locker rooms and prevents injuries on the court or on the field.”

HHS’s announcement lists examples of definitions included in the agency’s guidance. The guidance, according to the announcement, defines “female” as “a person of the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing eggs” and “male” as “a person of the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing sperm.”

The guidance also defines “woman” as “an adult human female” and “man” as “an adult human male.”

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