Rouleau: Prioritizing the Protection of Women, Not Neglecting or Reimagining Them

In Joe Biden’s America, Women are Forgotten

Working as an attorney assisting women in maintaining safe and fair environments, I have heard numerous stories and frustrations from young women who have felt pressured to allow men into spaces designated for women.

Amid lawsuits against the Biden administration for blurring the lines between girls and boys in schools, one particular incident stands out.

One day, an 11-year-old middle school girl in Oklahoma entered the girls’ restroom at school and found a male student inside.

Feeling scared and confused, she confronted the male student, questioning why he was in the girls’ restroom.

This uncomfortable encounter led her to start avoiding using the school restroom altogether, waiting nearly nine hours from boarding the bus to arriving home.

When her parents discovered this behavior, they were rightfully outraged.

She felt pressured by teachers to accept this situation as normal and was unable to voice her objections.

Initially, only male classmates claiming to identify as girls used the girls’ restroom, but eventually, other male classmates began using it as well, knowing they could get away with it.

As a result, the girl’s friends and peers also began avoiding the restroom, feeling uncomfortable about using private spaces where a male student could enter.

Fortunately, Oklahoma passed a law protecting women’s privacy in restrooms.

However, the Biden administration is attempting to overturn this protection.

This recent attempt to rewrite Title IX threatens to undo over 50 years of progress since its inception.

The U.S. Department of Education is seeking to expand the definition of “sex” in federal law to include “gender identity,” disregarding biological differences between men and women.

If successful, males claiming a female identity would have access to spaces reserved for women in Title IX, such as locker rooms, showers, bedrooms, beds on overnight trips, and athletic competitions.

Women would be left behind if this revision of Title IX is implemented, prompting swift responses from organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom, where I am legal counsel.

We have joined several lawsuits to uphold state laws that prioritize women’s privacy, dignity, and safety.

Recently, we also filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Oklahoma middle school girl who fears using the school girls’ restroom again.

We are already witnessing the consequences of this ideology in places like Connecticut, where two male athletes displaced several young women in high school track and field competitions due to state policies enabling their participation as females.

In 2022, Lia Thomas dominated women’s swimming despite only achieving average times in men’s swimming beforehand.

When female teammates were forced to share a locker room with Thomas, controversy arose.

In Loudoun County, Virginia, policies granting male students access to female spaces led to a sexual assault cover-up scandal, revealing school officials’ lack of transparency and accountability.

By challenging a West Virginia law safeguarding women’s sports, a male student gained access to the girls’ track team and locker room, resulting in sexual harassment of a young girl with no intervention from school administrators.

When politics take precedence over science and safety, women are sidelined and victimized.

While the Biden administration pushes this dangerous agenda, other nations, like England, are moving in a different direction.

Following a high-profile lawsuit involving a young woman coerced into believing she was a man and undergoing irreversible procedures, the UK’s National Health System chose to close its central pediatric gender clinic in 2022.

The NHS commissioned Dr. Hilary Cass to evaluate the effectiveness of such treatments, leading to recommendations for improved care for children struggling with their biological sex.

It is evident that women and young people deserve better than the dangerous redefinition proposed by the Biden administration.

It is crucial that we protect and respect women, rather than ignore or redefine them.

Rachel Rouleau serves as Legal Counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal).