AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a letter to the leaders of state agencies that Texas only recognizes two sexes: male and female.
The governor stated in an official press release that it’s a move to reject “woke gender ideologies” and “radical sexual orientation.”
In his letter, Abbott referenced an executive order from President Donald Trump that echoes a similar message about gender identity called “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
“My Administration will defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male,” the executive order reads.
It’s the latest move from the Texas government to restrict transgender and gender-nonconforming identities.
“The State of Texas recognizes only two sexes—male and female—and sex discrimination consists in treating a member of one sex less favorably than the other, absent some pertinent difference,” Abbott said in the letter. “Others have sought to distort the guarantee that men and women must be treated equally in order to impose mandates concerning sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Texas agencies must follow suit with the governor's declaration through their agency rules, internal policies and employment practices, according to Abbott.
Last April, Abbott ordered the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to ignore a rule from the Biden administration that expanded federal protections for LGBTQ+ students.
On a national scale, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday scrubbed its website of information on HIV data and terms such as “LGBT,” “transgender,” and “pregnant person,” to comply with Trump’s executive order.
