1,600 Scientists Sign Open Letter to Trump Calling For Withdrawal on Gender Memo

More than 1,600 scientists have signed an open letter calling on President Trump to withdraw from the proposed memo that would restrict the definition of gender, reports the BBC.

The proposal from the Department of Health and Human Services was leaked by the New York Times last week, it asks the President to create new polices that would narrow the definition of gender to what you are assigned at birth, it reads: “Sex means a person’s status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth.

“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.”

The 1,600 scientists, which include nine Nobel Prize winners, have said the memo was “fundamentally inconsistent not only with science, but also with ethical practices, human rights, and basic dignity.”

“The proposal is in no way ‘grounded in science’ as the administration claims,” the letter continues. “The relationship between sex chromosomes, genitalia, and gender identity is complex, and not fully understood.

“There are no genetic tests that can unambiguously determine gender, or even sex.

“Furthermore, even if such tests existed, it would be unconscionable to use the pretext of science to enact policies that overrule the lived experience of people’s own gender identities.”

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