Washington, DC –The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced decisive actions to align with President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at defending women and children while reinforcing what the administration calls “biological truth” in federal policy.
The rollout, detailed in a statement released today, marks a significant shift in HHS priorities under the leadership of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
“This administration is bringing back common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “The prior administration’s policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over.”
The centerpiece of this initiative is new guidance that expands on sex-based definitions outlined in Executive Order 14168, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
The guidance explicitly recognizes only two sexes—male and female—defined by biological characteristics immutable from conception. “This administration is bringing back common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government,” Kennedy declared, distancing the current policy from what he described as the previous administration’s focus on “gender ideology.”
Under the new definitions, “female” refers to a person with a reproductive system designed to produce eggs, while “male” denotes a person with a system producing sperm. Terms like “woman,” “girl,” “man,” and “boy” are similarly anchored in these biological distinctions, with “mother” and “father” reflecting parental roles tied to sex.
Dorothy Fink, MD, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s Health, emphasized the medical rationale: “In health care, sex distinctions can influence disease presentation, diagnosis, and treatment differently in females and males,” underscoring the need for sex-specific approaches in medicine and research.
HHS is also moving to enforce Executive Order 14187, “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” which targets interventions like gender-affirming surgeries and hormone therapies for minors, and Executive Order 14201, focused on barring biological males from women’s sports. These steps build on Trump’s broader agenda to reshape federal policy around binary sex classifications.
Adding a personal dimension to the policy shift, former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines contributed a video highlighting her experience competing against transgender athletes. “The executive order ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ ensures the next generation of girls has a fair opportunity to compete with the safety, privacy, and equal opportunity they’re entitled to,” Gaines said, praising the administration’s clarity as a victory for female athletes.
To support these efforts, HHS’ Office on Women’s Health launched a dedicated webpage today, offering resources and guidance on the new sex-based definitions and related protective measures. The site aims to educate the public and stakeholders on the administration’s stance.
The moves come amid a polarized national debate over gender identity and biological sex, with critics arguing that such policies marginalize transgender individuals, while supporters hail them as a return to scientific and legal clarity. HHS, tasked with enhancing the health and well-being of all Americans, frames these actions as a fulfillment of its mission through a lens of biological determinism.
