The Global Abolition of Sex | Opinion

NEWSWEEK KARA DANSKY , U.S. CHAPTER PRESIDENT, WOMEN'S DECLARATION INTERNATIONAL ON 12/22/22 AT 11:46 AM EST

SHARE OPINION GENDER WOMEN'S RIGHTS WOMEN SCOTLAND On December 22, the Scottish Parliament passed a controversial new law that allows for "gender self-ID." Two days earlier, it had voted down an amendment to the law that would have prevented sex offenders from being able to gain access to women's prisons on the basis of their self-declared "female gender identity." On Wednesday morning, it voted down another amendment that would have made an application to change sex retroactively fraudulent if the applicant was subsequently convicted of rape.

What this means is that any adult (or minor as young as 16), including sex offenders, can obtain legal recognition that he or she is a member of the opposite sex on the basis of his or her say-so. The law passed over the objections of countless Scottish women who have explained repeatedly that this will result in men being able to force themselves into women-only spaces like domestic violence shelters and prisons, and despite two-thirds of the Scottish population opposing it.

For the past several days, women (and plenty of men) have been standing outside Holyrood, bearing signs and banners, to register their dissent. A UN special rapporteur on violence against women has also warned about its dangerous repercussions.

The Spanish Congress passed similar legislation on December 22 as well, and that bill will now go to the Spanish Senate for consideration in 2023. The German legislature is debating doing something similar, and will be considering legislation early next year.

Think these developments are irrelevant on the other side of the pond? Think again. For years, the U.S. Congress has been considering a bill called the Equality Act (H.R. 5). The text of H.R. 5 does not contain the phrase "self-ID," but it's effectively the same thing. That bill would redefine the word "sex" to include the nebulous phrase "gender identity" throughout U.S. civil rights law. President Joe Biden promised during his 2020 campaign to get the law passed within 100 days of taking office, and it has been before the U.S. Senate since March 2021. The U.S. chapter of the global feminist organization Women's Declaration International has suggested an alternative bill, the Equality for All Act, which would protect women and girls on the basis of sex; lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people on the basis of sexual orientation; and all people on the basis of nonconformity with sex stereotypes.

MADRID, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 12: Transgender flag is seen during the demonstration against the criminalization of sex work on September 12, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. ALDARA ZARRAOA/GETTY IMAGES Self-ID has already been the law in California since 2018. In that state, anyone can obtain a new birth certificate with the opposite sex marked as their own. The law does not require input from any physician, or any surgical or hormonal changes to the person's body.

Self-ID means that any person (man or woman) can simply declare himself or herself to be a member of the opposite sex and to have the government validate that delusion on demand. No one, anywhere in the world, has properly grappled with the implications of this. Most of the people pushing back globally are politically left-leaning feminists, and the vast majority of people (regardless of political orientation) agree with us.

NEWSWEEK SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS > Feminists have argued for years that allowing anyone to "self-identify" as any gender will result in men forcing themselves into women's spaces. This is already happening in the U.S. at the state level. Many states allow men to be housed in women's prisons on the basis of their self-declared "female gender identity." California's SB 132 was enacted in 2020 and went into effect in January 2021. Washington state does the same thing by way of administrative policy. New Jersey implemented a similar policy through a settlement agreement with the ACLU. Incarcerated women all over the country are being assaulted, raped, and impregnated by men who claim to be women (many of whom have been convicted of very serious crimes like rape and murder). These women are terrified. This should be a national and international scandal.

READ MORE Dictionaries, University Guidelines Impose Woke Vocabulary Medical Experts, Not Activists, Must Lead Discussion of Puberty Blockers What else has our society neglected to consider in the campaign to redefine sex to mean "gender identity?" Will national health bodies like the NIH and CDC be able to track the impacts of various medications on men and women as distinct sex classes? Will the FBI be able to continue to track crime according to sex? All of this is the inevitable result of pretending that sex isn't real or that it can be changed. I made the case for pushing back against that in my 2021 book The Abolition of Sex: How the 'Transgender' Agenda Harms Women and Girls. Anyone who cares about the rights, privacy, and safety of women and girls; anyone who cares about acknowledging the material reality of biological sex; and anyone who thinks that public policy should be grounded in science needs to take a stand. Now would be a good time. Sex was abolished under Scottish law this month and it may soon happen in Spain and Germany. Americans should not be surprised when it comes for us next. Kara Dansky is the president of the U.S. chapter of Women's Declaration International and the author of the book The Abolition of Sex: How the 'Transgender' Agenda Harms Women and Girls. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own. REQUEST REPRINT & LICENSING OR VIEW EDITORIAL GUIDELINES CHOOSE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION PREMIUM Newsweek magazine delivered to your door Unlimited access to Newsweek.com Ad free Newsweek.com experience iOS and Android app access All newsletters + podcasts FROM $9.99 DIGITAL+ AD FREE Unlimited access to Newsweek.com Ad free Newsweek.com experience iOS and Android app access All newsletters + podcasts FROM $1 © 2023 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC