Today, on October 21st, 2018, a memo from the Trump Administration began circulating that could spell the end of transgender rights in the United States. The memo clearly states the intention of the Department of Heath and Human Services is to put in place a legal definition of sex under Title IX, the civil rights law that prevents discrimination based on sex. This legal definition would be based solely on assigned gender at birth based on a person's anatomy, and would have zero room to change at any point. The proposed reason for the change is to distinguish gender based "on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable."

“The sex listed on a person’s birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person’s sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence,” states the memo, effectively shutting down any opportunity for transgenders to get the help they need, and prevents them from being officially recognized as the gender they identify as. In addition, genetic testing for gender will be mandated in cases where dispute exist, a step that almost dehumanizes transgenders and strips them of their freedom of expression. 

This is in the wake of several anti-LGBT moves by the administration since Trump took office in 2017. Trump and his cabinet have withdrawn previous moves by the Obama Administration to extend rights to transgender individuals, such as one's right to use the bathroom of their gender identity rather than the gender assigned to them at birth, and a failed attempt to ban openly transgender individuals from serving in the military.

These are not attempts at clearly defining a legal grey area. These are thinly veiled attempts to appease a conservative government and to crack down on a minority in the United States. The actions of the Trump Administration in regards to LGBT citizens have been hostile, but this is the first direct attack against all transgender rights in the country. It is a hateful move that if the Administration is allowed to continue with, will completely discredit years of work the LGBT community has done to ensure equality and acceptance.

I am a transgender individual, and I know from experience how hard life can be growing up in the wrong body. The struggles transgender people face on a purely personal basis can be excruciating, and it is actions like these that lead to fear among the community that they will not be accepted for who they are.

Let's make it clear to Trump and his cabinet that we will not take these actions without a fight. We won't sit here and let our rights be revoked.

SOURCE: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/21/us/politics/transgender-trump-administration-sex-definition.html