Written Testimony delivered by Christopher Jay, attorney with Cornerstone Action to the Senate Transportation Committee, April 9th 2019
Today we are being told we should easily allow change of sex for people who perceive themselves to be the opposite sex (or non-binary, etc.). The argument presented is that we should allow this if a person sincerely believes they are the opposite sex (or non-binary, etc.) because it would affirm the person and prevent discrimination or unwanted questions from law enforcement/employers/etc.
But sex is a biological reality. We can make whatever claims we want about it, but at the end of the day, as a man I will never be able to give birth to a child. I cannot separate my identity from my body – I am one entity, regardless of what I feel or perceive.
If we are willing to accept the logic above for sex, why stop there? Why not be consistent, and apply the same logic to age, weight, height, race, eye color, etc.?
You may or may not be aware that in fact this argument is already being made. The transgender movement is already picking up steam. A 2018 issue of the Medical Journal of Ethics published a paper titled, “Moral case for legal age change,” which argued that governments should allow people to change their age if they sincerely perceive themselves as older or younger to avoid discrimination – the exact same logic applied here to sex. (See: https://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2019/03/14/medethics-2018-105294)
The logical ramifications of enacting law as though we could separate a person’s body and their identity per someone’s choice are dramatic. We may think we are being compassionate, affirming, or forward thinking. We are not. We are coding into law a logic that defies physical, scientific, and metaphysical reality. And this logic will only continue to be drawn out to its conclusions. When this happens, either reality will collapse, or the structures built on this logic will collapse. It will not be reality. We cannot accept a logic that offers counterfeit compassion, and a counterfeit solution. We can address any problems of unjust discrimination, et cetera, in a way that does not dissolve the integrity of the human person.
Please vote “inexpedient to legislate” on HB669.
