Reclaiming Biological Fact: The Importance of Scientific Gender Definitions
Mat Staver is the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. Mat has filed numerous briefs and argued in many federal and state courts, including three landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court: Shurtleff v. City of Boston, Madsen v. Women's Health Center and McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky.
ANALYSIS
Some stark moments have marked the gender confusion debate that's been raging in the U.S. Few were as stunning as the response of Ketanji Brown Jackson, a mother of two daughters and a sitting judge, after Sen. Marsha Blackburn asked her for the definition of the word "woman" during her confirmation hearing. The now-sitting Justice of the United States Supreme Court stated she didn't know because she's "not a biologist."
How did something that is an objective reality, confirmed by science, and just plain common sense become controversial or indefinable? How did an educated woman in the United States of America come to this conclusion? Why are government leaders nominating, and confirming, someone who ignores and abandons absolute truth, scientific realities, and American values?
One doesn't have to be a zoologist to distinguish the difference between a monkey and a lion. Or be a botanist to determine the difference between a plant and a tree. There's no requirement to be a biologist to recognize the different, yet complementary aspects of males and females.
There is irrefutable evidence that sex is determined and doesn't change. Science is clear that sex is determined at conception and ingrained in our DNA. In a world where we are told to "follow the science," the "transgender" lie that dominates culture is itself blatantly anti-science and is ignoring biology down to the chromosomal level.
Everyone is either born with two X chromosomes (women) or an X and a Y chromosome (men). Numerous studies have been done, including one by the National Academy of Sciences, which states, "every cell has a sex," referring to scientific evidence that confirms the differences between the two sexes. Another study found 6,500 genes that differed between men and women. No matter how far we advance medically, no amount of "surgery," "treatment," or pretending will change the biological fact and permanence of sex.
Consider for a moment why doctors have to consider sex when providing medical care. The National Institutes of Health admits, "Sex is a multidimensional biological construct based on anatomy, physiology, genetics, and hormones. …Scientists have observed important sex differences across key pathways and processes, such as how the body fights disease (immune system), processes pain (nervous system), and maintains heart health (cardiovascular system)." They admit that sex must be taken into consideration when diagnosing patients, prescribing medication, and more.
It is dangerous when standard-setting experts like the National Institutes of Health affirm undeniable differences between males and females, and yet also affirm the "new normal." The word "woman" has been reduced to condescending terms like "egg producer," "menstruator," "person with a uterus," or "birthing person." They encourage "chest feeding" even when undeniable data proves men cannot lactate or breastfeed. Digital parenting platform BabyCenter confirms, "In general, men can't lactate or breastfeed. While people born as male do have the anatomy necessary for lactation (nipples, mammary glands, and pituitary glands), they don't have the hormone levels necessary to produce milk. Both males and females develop similarly in the womb up to a certain point (until about 9 weeks pregnant, when sex differences develop). This includes nipple development. But at puberty – thanks to hormones – females develop breast tissue and an ability to produce milk, while males don't. God established the gender binary when He created us male and female."
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The alarming attempt to erase the gender binary and replace truth with relativism is destructive to humanity itself, and we have seen far too many undergo irreversible damage. Dr. Colin Wright, an evolutionary biologist and fellow at the Manhattan Institute, published "The Dangerous Denial of Sex" in the Wall Street Journal. Wright said that "biological sex is binary and not a spectrum. I am also sharply critical of gender ideology because I think it harms women, homosexuals, and children."
This Orwellian attack on the absolute truth of biological sex is not a "live and let live" issue. When culture departs from reality and can't define biological facts like "man" and "woman," confusion ensues and there are tragic consequences.
Only women have uteruses that allow for a baby to develop. A 32-year-old "transgender man" (woman) entered the emergency room with severe abdominal pains and was classified as a "man" in her medical records. She was actually pregnant, but doctors did not know to care for her unborn baby or prepare the mother for delivery because her records said she was a man. Because of this confusion, the doctors prepared her for an emergency c-section hours too late, and the baby tragically died on the operating table.
The damage is far-reaching. Since society decided that sex is arbitrary, we've seen more shocking stories like that of the pregnant "man." Also, men are infiltrating women's sports, bathrooms, locker rooms, prisons, and sororities. This tragic reality has contributed to a culture that endorses lies through the reports of women and girls being raped or assaulted by "transgender" individuals in spaces like bathrooms and even in women's prisons.
There's hope. More and more people across the ideological spectrum are acknowledging that strong action must be taken to stop this threat to humanity. Even progressives are against this horrendous social construct. Jamie Reed differs from Christians and conservatives on many issues, but after working at Washington University Transgender Center as a case manager between 2018 and 2022, she has taken action to end the harm being done to children in these gender clinics.
"I left the clinic in November of last year because I could no longer participate in what was happening there," Reed wrote in The Free Press. "By the time I departed, I was certain the way the American medical system is treating these patients is the opposite of the promise we make to 'do no harm.' Instead, we are permanently harming the vulnerable patients in our care." Reed's bravery spurred the Missouri Legislature to ban so-called "gender affirming" care for minors.
READ Pediatric Center Halts Transgender Procedures After State Bans 'Experimentation' on Minors
Many like Jamie are waking up to the lies of this "transgender" ideology. Between the ages of 13 and 15, Chloe Cole was a victim of these lies and was put on puberty blockers, prescribed testosterone, and underwent a double mastectomy. Less than a year after having her healthy organs amputated, she regretted her decision and began to "transition" back to a woman. There are more and more victims of this dangerous ideology coming out and working to reverse the harm and pain inflicted on them, or others.
READ 'Butchered by an Institution': Woman Sues Hospital for Trans Surgery She Received as Kid
There are solutions to this global crisis. Because truth is absolute, we need the facts revealed in natural law, human biology, and science to be reflected in our laws, policies, and the public square to protect people from this ideological carnage and prevent further chaos. It's time to stand up and relentlessly advocate for truth to win. It is critical that we pray and take strategic action to reverse the damage done to the soul of America. We can no longer allow this agenda to be advanced by the highest leaders of the land, or to permeate our culture, without going unchecked.
READ 'Seismic Shift': UK, Florida Move to Limit Medical Treatment for Gender-Distressed Kids
