Equal Justice for None

Press Release

By: Phil Roe

All Americans agree that individuals should be treated fairly and with respect. As a small business owner, all I cared about was whether you could get the job done, and that's a unifying principle we should apply when crafting our laws. The so-called Equality Act that House Democrats are bringing to the floor this week claims to be legislation implementing this principle. In reality, however, the legislation will have the effect of eliminating any acknowledgement of the legitimacy of biological sex. This bill will directly infringe upon the rights of women, parents, medical practitioners and religious institutions.

Much of the Democratic agenda claims to be about enhancing women's rights, but this legislation effectively says that gender is a choice. This directly undermines their claims for passing legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act and reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. Under the Equality Act, men can claim they are female without any gender transition; biological males who have yet to go through a gender change would be guaranteed access to private areas designated by gender; and men would be allowed to be admitted into female safe houses, regardless of whether their presence will serve as an emotional trigger and jeopardize victims' safety and health.

Men and women are biologically different. Men have higher naturally-occurring testosterone levels, which promotes increased muscle and bone mass and gives males certain physical advantages. That is a fact. If men, citing their gender identity instead of their biological sex, can participate in women's sports, then federal laws like Title IX that promote equality in school sports would be completely undermined. This isn't a theoretical debate. Transgender athletes are winning sporting competitions more and more. For example, a transgender athlete recently set a Minnesota state record in women's bench and won best overall lifter, despite only taking up lifting a year ago. Another won back-to-back girls' state wrestling titles. Two transgender athletes finished first and second in a state track and field meet. An intersex Olympic runner -- who was later disqualified by the International Association of Athletics Federations over her high testosterone levels -- won several gold medals. I have three granddaughters and one of them plays soccer, and I want her to continue to have these opportunities while playing in female sports. It is not fair for a biological male, who identifies as female, to compete against women in sports when they have a biological advantage, undermining all the great female athletes. Sports are such a wonderful opportunity for our children to stay active and promote many positive character traits that will serve them throughout their lives.

Another troubling provision in this bill would prevent parental involvement and decision making for a child with gender dysphoria and prohibits a physician from treating gender dysphoria the way they believe is best for their patient. Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones have extreme side-effects such as sterility, loss of bone density, cognitive decline and increased risk of cancer. Under this legislation, medical professionals could be forced to provide these drugs, regardless of their professional judgment on whether that is the correct course of treatment. In Ohio, parents lost custody of their daughter because they refused to allow cross-sex hormones at 17; reading this is heartbreaking. Until a child is at the age of 18, parents should have the right to have encourage their child to seek alternatives such as psychotherapy until they are of age. According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-5), as many as 98 percent of boys and 88 percent of girls who experience gender dysphoria will naturally resolve it as they mature. This legislation would remove parental rights and could result in parents being criminally charged if they encourage their child to do therapy.

Additionally, there is no scientific evidence of the effectiveness of sex reassignment. In fact, research shows that suicide rates among those who have undergone sex reassignment surgery was 20 times higher than comparable peers. More research is undoubtedly needed, but according to The Guardian, the university center that reviews healthcare treatments for the UK's health care system "concludes that none of the studies provides conclusive evidence that gender reassignment is beneficial for patients." Why wouldn't we insist on research and facts showing that this proposed solution will not do more harm than good? This is an incredibly divisive measure that prioritizes a social agenda at the expense of science and common sense.

Source