FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Doctors for America
PO Box: 21161
2300 18th St NW Lbby
Washington, DC 20009-9996
February 3, 2025
Doctors for America’s Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order Claiming “Two Genders”
Washington, D.C.: Doctors for America (DFA) calls on President Trump to rescind the executive order stating “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.” This executive order is both medically inaccurate and fueled by transphobia, leading to the dissemination of misinformation and further discrimination against Americans.
Sex is not and has never been a binary. Not all people born can be easily classified as male or female based on genetic variations, resulting in intersex individuals. When intersex people are forced to adhere to an artificial binary through unethical surgical or medical interventions that they did not want or consent to, this can cause mental and emotional distress throughout a person’s life. Intersex people deserve to be acknowledged and affirmed within medicine and by society rather than pathologized or ignored.
This executive order also denies the reality of gender identity. While sex is defined by a person’s biological makeup, gender is based on a person’s internal understanding of their own identity. Transgender and nonbinary people have always existed, and recent medical advancements have allowed for this population to receive healthcare that aligns with their identity, something that cisgender people access easily. Moreover, these scientifically supported healthcare practices to support our transgender and nonbinary patients are known to have some of the lowest medical regret rates of any medical decisions, once again affirming how this care is not only necessary, but desired. Federally furthering stigmatization against transgender, gender diverse, and intersex people the way this executive order does can lead to increased rates of depression, anxiety and suicide from being treated like they don’t exist and being actively harmed through transphobic behavior. However, supporting transgender and nonbinary individuals in affirming their identities is evidence-based and not only allows for our patients to feel like themselves, but also greatly reduces their risk of suffering from gender dysphoria and other negative health outcomes.
Defining sex and gender by the reproductive cells a person produces is inherently harmful, presumptive of a person’s biology, and inaccurate to the definitions of either term. To then use this incorrect definition to restrict people’s ability to align with their identity only perpetuates suffering for an already vulnerable population. As physicians who care for patients with various genetics, gender identities, and gender expression, we understand the mental and physical health impacts this type of order can have. These restrictions on sex and gender will result in social, physical, mental, and medical harm and enshrine transphobia. In upholding our mission as physicians to promote health, we demand the reversal of this executive order for the benefit of our patients and the communities we care for.
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About Doctors for America:
Doctors for America mobilizes doctors and medical students to be leaders in putting patients over politics to improve the health of our patients, communities, and nation. We are 27,000 physicians and medical students in all 50 states, representing all areas of specialization. Our impact areas focus on access to affordable care, community health and prevention, and health justice and equity. DFA focuses solely on what is best for our patients, not on the business side of medicine, and does not accept any funding from pharmaceutical or medical device companies; which uniquely positions DFA as the organization that puts patients over politics and patients over profits. Find out more at doctorsforamerica.org and on X @drsforamerica.
