News & Updates

SIECUS stands against Trump administration’s inhumane plans to erase transgender people

For Immediate Release
October 22, 2018

Contact: Zach Eisenstein
Phone: (202) 265-2405 ext 3330
zeisenstein@siecus.org

On October 21, The New York Times unveiled a leaked memo from the Trump administration that calls for the elimination of civil rights protections for transgender people. Samantha Dercher, SIECUS Federal Policy Director, released the following statement in response:

“The Trump administration has attacked transgender people before. But now, it is trying to erase them from existence.

Not only does this heartless attempt to erase millions of people go against basic human decency, it also ignores decades of scientific, medical, and legal evidence that have affirmed the full rights and identities of transgender people.

This proposal shows a clear misunderstanding of what it means to be transgender—illuminating the dire need to provide people in this country with quality sex education.

With better sex education, Trump and his officials could have learned the simple fact that a person’s gender is not defined by the genitalia they were born with. They also could have been taught that genitalia itself does not always fit into a male-female binary.

Shockingly, the proposed changes also call for any ‘dispute about one’s sex’ to be clarified with ‘genetic testing.’ This authoritarian level of government overreach into the most private parts of our lives is right out of a dystopian nightmare.

While this administration continues its attempts to undo decades of progress, SIECUS will remain vigilant in efforts to both protect the rights of transgender people and promote better understanding of gender and sexuality in this country.

Transgender people are our family, our friends, our colleagues, and our community. Transgender people are people. And nothing the government can do will erase them.”

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The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) has served as the national voice for sex education, sexual health, and sexual rights for over 50 years. SIECUS asserts that sexuality is a fundamental part of being human, one worthy of dignity and respect. We advocate for the rights of all people to accurate information, comprehensive sexuality education, and the full spectrum of sexual and reproductive health services. SIECUS works to create a world that ensures social justice inclusive of sexual and reproductive rights.

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