Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed an executive order on Aug. 30 directing state agencies to define “female” and “male” as an individual’s biological sex in a move aimed at protecting children and preserving women’s rights.
The executive order (pdf) establishes the “Women’s Bill of Rights,” which will go into effect immediately and applies to the executive branch, including state agencies, boards, and commissions.
Under the order, schools and other state agencies are asked to define an individual’s sex by their biological sex at birth, with a female defined as a person “whose biological reproductive system is designed to produce ova” and a male as a person whose “biological reproductive system is designed to fertilize the ova of a female.”
Meanwhile, “woman” and “girl” refer to human females, and the terms “man” and “boy” refer to human males, the bill states.
The terms “mother” and “father” are defined as the parent of the female sex and the parent of the male sex, respectively.
“There are legitimate reasons to distinguish between the sexes with respect to athletics, prisons or other detention facilities, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, locker rooms, restrooms, and other areas where biology, safety and/or privacy are implicated,” the order states.
It notes the terms defining males and females should also be used when collecting vital statistics, such as data on crime and discrimination.
‘Common Sense’ Order
“Any public school or school district and any state agency, department or office that collects vital statistics for the purpose of complying with anti-discrimination laws or for the purpose of gathering accurate public health, crime, economic, or other data shall identify each individual who is part of the collected data set as wither male or female at birth,” the order states.
The order, which does not carry as much weight as signed legislation or a judicial ruling, will expire if Nebraska lawmakers pass a law on transgender athletes.
“It is common sense that men do not belong in women’s only spaces,” Mr. Pillen said in a statement announcing the order. “As Governor, it is my duty to protect our kids and women’s athletics, which means providing single-sex spaces for women’s sports, bathrooms, and changing rooms.”
Mr. Pillen’s executive order is similar to the one signed earlier this month by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who became the first U.S. governor to issue such an order defining males and females.
At a signing ceremony for that order, Mr. Stitt said it would also serve to prevent biological men and boys from entering “women-only” spaces in the state, including restrooms and locker rooms.
Earlier this year, former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines detailed the “traumatic” locker room experience she and other female athletes endured with transgender athlete Lia Thomas, formerly William Thomas.
Order Sparks Criticism
Mr. Thomas, who is 6 foot 4 inches tall, walked in, disrobed, and was “fully intact with male genitalia while we were simultaneously undressing,” Ms. Gaines told lawmakers. The swimmer later discovered the locker room had been made “unisex,” meaning that any male could enter at any time.
Similar safety concerns have been shared by female athletes across the United States.
Responding to Mr. Pillen’s executive order Wednesday, state Sen. Megan Hunt described him as a “famous women’s rights supporter” who “signed this offensive and ridiculous proclamation establishing a ‘Women’s Bill of Rights.’”
“He should try saying this stuff to my face then we would see who’s got what biological advantage,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “To be serious, @TeamPillen should be aware of all the federal funding that could be taken away from Nebraska were this proclamation to be enforced,” she wrote.
“Federal funding sources for domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers have provisions protecting trans survivors,” Ms. Hunt continued. “I know Governor Pillen probably hates that fact that trans people would ever be protected or safe, but that’s how it works today and he’s putting Nebraskans in danger by continuing to make this group the entire focus of his ignorant and discriminatory agenda.”
Jane Seu, legal and policy counsel for the ACLU of Nebraska, accused Mr. Pillen of attempting to “push a divisive and harmful agenda” that singles out the LGBT community.
“We are reviewing this executive order and want every trans, nonbinary, and intersex Nebraskan to know we will continue to fight for their belonging and inclusion,” Ms. Seu said in a statement to the Nebraska Examiner.
From The Epoch Times
