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Erasing Women

Feb 28 2023
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Don’t ERAse Women Press Conference

By | Erasing Women, News and Events, Sexual Exploitation | No Comments

Today,  Concerned Women for America joined forces with other women’s groups and Rep. Mary Miller (R-Illinois) at a Capitol Hill press conference following the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

 

You can view the press conference here.

 

The ERA would allow federal courts and legislative powers to reinterpret every law making a distinction based on “sex” or “gender.” This means that any limits on abortion or denying taxpayer-funded abortions would be seen as sex discrimination. Women-only safe spaces like sex-segregated bathrooms, locker rooms, or domestic violence shelters could be seen as a form of sex discrimination. A woman could potentially be forced into military service against her will.

 

Feb 26 2023
0

Don’t ERAse Women with an Equal Rights Amendment

By | Erasing Women, News and Events, Press Releases, Sexual Exploitation | No Comments

For Immediate Release
February 27, 2023

Contact:  CWA Communications Team
[email protected]

MEDIA ADVISORY:

Don’t ERAse Women with an Equal Rights Amendment

Women’s Groups will Hold Press Briefing Tuesday, February 28 before Senate Hearings

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, February 28, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) will join with other women’s groups at a Capitol Hill press conference before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment.

 

First introduced in 1923 and heavily debated in 1972, the ratification of an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution has emerged once again and will be the subject of a hearing in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to remove the time limit on the ratification in 2021, and Leftist organizations are pushing again to get it passed.

 

“It feels like we are going back in time; the new ERA will erase women’s progress and erase legal distinctions based on sex, leaving women completely unprotected,” said Penny Nance, CEO and President of CWALAC, the nation’s largest women’s public policy organization. “Women have made huge strides in the last 100 years in education, employment, politics, sports, and many other aspects of society through established laws. Women don’t need a new law to be equal.”

 

EVENT DETAILS:

What:  Equal Rights Amendment Press Conference

 

Who:

Penny Nance, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee

Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL)

Jennifer C. Braceras, Independent Women’s Forum

Karen Cross, National Right to Life Committee       

Savanna Deretich, Students for Life of America           

Meg Kilgannon, Family Research Council

Britton Miller, Young Women for America

Kris Ullman, Eagle Forum

 

When: February 28, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. EST 

 

Where: Senate Dirksen, Office Building,  Room G-11 (ground floor)

 

The ERA would allow federal courts and legislative powers to reinterpret every law making a distinction based on “sex” or “gender.” This means that any limits on abortion or denying taxpayer-funded abortions would be seen as sex discrimination. Women-only safe spaces like sex-segregated bathrooms, locker rooms, or domestic violence shelters could be seen as a form of sex discrimination. A woman could potentially be forced into military service against her will.

##

Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) is the legislation and advocacy arm of Concerned Women for America. Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization with a rich 40-year history of helping our members across the country bring Biblical principles into all levels of public policy.

Feb 22 2023
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Don’t Let Congress Undo Dobbs, Erase Women: Update

By | Erasing Women, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sexual Exploitation | No Comments

This article has been updated (1) to include additional findings and (2) to correct an incorrect reference to Colorado, which should have been a reference to Connecticut.

 

State of play. This Congress, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) reintroduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in support of the so-called Equal Rights Amendment.

 

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) has already moved the measure onto the Senate’s Legislative Calendar for potential consideration in April. There are rumors that supporters will also attempt forced consideration on the House Floor.

 

Dobbs‘ undoing, erasing women. If it was ever properly ratified, the Equal Rights Amendment could constitutionalize abortion and radical gender ideology. It could undo the historic victory in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), the U.S. Supreme Court case that correctly concluded that there is no right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution, and it could erase women from the Constitution.

 

Procedural defects. The only good news is that this current effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment—in the tradition of the past efforts—will fail. As a proposed constitutional amendment, the Equal Rights Amendment is bound by a unique set of procedural requirements for ratification. Currently, supporters are pursuing ratification outside of these bounds and through improper means.

 

Substantive issues. That said, we remain vigilant because of the Amendment’s dire consequences. Of course, the text sounds good: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” But as we have explained before, “the amendment could have a reverse effect on women’s progress.” Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), for example, expertly revealed in a 2019 House Judiciary Committee hearing that activists will use the Equal Rights Amendment to constitutionalize abortion and gender identity.

 

Abortion. Any difference in treatment between men and women can be considered denial or abridgment of equality. This even includes natural, common sense differences, such as pregnancy and birth. Connecticut and New Mexico have Equal Rights Amendments in their state constitutions. Supreme courts in both states interpreted these Equal Rights Amendments to require abortion access in their state health programs.[1] In New Mexico, for example, the court said:

 

  • “women’s biology and ability to bear children have been used as a basis for discrimination against them.”
  • “Since only women become pregnant, discrimination against pregnancy by not funding abortion when it is medically necessary and when all other medical[ly necessary] expenses are paid by the state for both men and women is sex oriented discrimination.”

 

Further, as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Rep. Johnson explained, groups that support abortion access—NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Organization for Women, and Planned Parenthood—have explicitly stated that they would use a federal Equal Rights Amendment to strike down laws that protect the unborn. Should it become law, the Amendment could insert a right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution.

 

Gender Identity. Equality could also mean reinterpretation of the law that makes distinctions based on sex, such as registration for the Selective Service. The Equal Rights Amendment could be used to force women to register for the Selective Service, and the legality of women-only spaces would be thrown into question.

 

The New Mexico Supreme Court’s reasoning once again raises these concerns by stating that it is “erroneous to rely on the notion that a classification based on a unique physical characteristic is reasonable simply because it corresponds to some ‘natural’ grouping…we must ascertain whether the classification ‘operates to the disadvantage of persons so classified.’” This reasoning—which could be the reasoning used for a federal Amendment—opens the door to judicial Monday morning quarterbacking that introduces today’s radical gender ideology.

 

The Amendment only uses the word “sex.” But as we have seen, Rep. Johnson exposed through congressional questioning that activists would use it to force the same treatment of women and men who identify as women.

 

  • Kathleen M. Sullivan, Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan: “The proper textual reading of the term on account of sex does include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender identity, and that is just a textual reading of the term on the basis of sex.”
  • Pat Spearman, Co-Majority Whip, Nevada Senate: “When you talk about on the basis of sex, gender identity is a new way of saying this is who I am.”
  • Patricia Arquette, Actor and Advocate: “That is going to be argued in court.”

 

Then-House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney hosted a hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment, which included men who identify as women as within the scope of coverage for women’s new legal status under the Equal Rights Amendment.

 

And as many of you know, Mrs. Beverly LaHaye, Concerned Women for America (CWA) Founder, started CWA and mobilized thousands of women across the country because of her concerns with the Equal Rights Amendment. She spoke out against not just the Amendment’s harms for the unborn but the unfair characterization of women as a monolithic block of pro-abortion feminists. Radical gender ideology presents new challenges, but our mission remains the same to advocate for Biblical values in public policy and through that, “speaking the truth in love,” Ephesians 4:15.

 

[1] Doe v. Maher, 40 Conn. Supp. 394, 515 A.2d 134 (Conn. Super. Ct. 1986); New Mexico Right to Choose/NARAL v. Johnson, 975 P.2d 841 (N.M. 1998).

Feb 09 2023
0

Don’t Let Congress Undo Dobbs, Erase Women

By | Erasing Women, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sanctity of Life, Sexual Exploitation | No Comments

State of play. This Congress, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) reintroduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in support of the so-called Equal Rights Amendment.

 

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) has already moved the measure onto the Senate’s Legislative Calendar for potential consideration in April. There are rumors that supporters will also attempt forced consideration on the House Floor.

 

Dobbs‘ undoing, erasing women. If it was ever properly ratified, the Equal Rights Amendment would constitutionalize abortion and radical gender ideology. It would undo the historic victory in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), the U.S. Supreme Court case that correctly concluded that there is no right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution, and it would erase women from the Constitution.

 

Procedural defects. The only good news is that this current effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment—in the tradition of the past efforts—will fail. As a proposed constitutional amendment, the Equal Rights Amendment is bound by a unique set of procedural requirements for ratification. Currently, supporters are pursuing ratification outside of these bounds and through improper means.

 

Substantive issues. That said, we remain vigilant because of the Amendment’s dire consequences. Of course, the text sounds good: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” But as we have explained before, “the amendment could have a reverse effect on women’s progress.” Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), for example, expertly revealed in a 2019 House Judiciary Committee hearing that activists will use the Equal Rights Amendment to constitutionalize abortion and gender identity.

 

Abortion. Any difference in treatment between men and women can be considered denial or abridgment of equality. This even includes natural, common sense differences, such as pregnancy and birth. Rep. Johnson explained:

  • [I]n 1988, the Colorado Supreme Court held that Colorado’s ERA in its state constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy.
  • Ten years later in 1998, the Supreme Court of New Mexico took the next step and relied on New Mexico’s state-level ERA to strike down a state reg[ulation] that restricted state funding of abortions for Medicaid-eligible women. In New Mexico, Right to Choose/NARAL v. Johnson, the court held as follows:
    • “Neither the Hyde Amendment nor the federal authorities upholding the constitutionality of that amendment bar this court from affording greater protection of the rights of Medicaid-eligible women under our state constitution in this instance. Article II Section 18 of the New Mexico Constitution guarantees that equality of rights under law shall not be denied on account of the sex of any person.” “We construe,” the court said, “the intent of this amendment is providing something beyond that already afforded by the general language of the equal protection clause.”
  • More recently, NARAL Pro-Choice America, in a March 13, 2019, national alert, admitted their belief that the Equal Rights Amendment would,
    • “reinforce the constitutional right to abortion. It would require judges to strike down anti-abortion laws.”.

 

Gender Identity. Equality could also mean reinterpretation of the law that makes distinctions based on sex, such as registration for the Selective Service. The Equal Rights Amendment could be used to force women to register for the Selective Service, and the legality of women-only spaces would be thrown into question.

 

Further, while the Amendment only uses the word “sex,” Rep. Johnson exposed through congressional questioning that it would be used as a tool to advance gender ideology.

 

  • Kathleen M. Sullivan, Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan: “The proper textual reading of the term on account of sex does include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender identity, and that is just a textual reading of the term on the basis of sex.”
  • Pat Spearman, Co-Majority Whip, Nevada Senate: “When you talk about on the basis of sex, gender identity is a new way of saying this is who I am.”
  • Patricia Arquette, Actor and Advocate: “That is going to be argued in court.”

 

And as many of you know, Mrs. Beverly LaHaye, Concerned Women for America (CWA) Founder, started CWA and mobilized thousands of women across the country because of her concerns with the Equal Rights Amendment. She spoke out against not just the Amendment’s harms for the unborn but the unfair characterization of women as a monolithic block of pro-abortion feminists. Radical gender ideology presents new challenges, but our mission remains the same to advocate for Biblical values in public policy and through that, “speaking the truth in love,” Ephesians 4:15.

Oct 10 2022
0

The Equal Rights Amendment—Long Gone or Here To Stay?

By | Defense of Family, Erasing Women, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sanctity of Life, Sexual Exploitation | No Comments

The Equal Rights Amendment—Long Gone or Here To Stay?
Answer May Depend on Politicized Justice Department

 

Recently, the question of ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) emerged once again during Senate confirmation hearings for a new Archivist of the United States, the person in charge of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Colleen Shogan, Ph.D., is President Joe Biden’s pick to lead NARA. She previously worked in the U.S. Senate and the Library of Congress, and she has held various positions on boards and commissions related to American History. She faced rigorous questioning from Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) about her stance on whether NARA could certify the ERA.

 

What is the ERA, exactly, and why would it be unlawful to certify it? The misnamed resolution purports to ensure that women are equal in the U.S. Constitution. But in reality, the amendment could have a reverse effect on women’s progress. During a 2019 House Judiciary Committee hearing, for instance, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) exposed that—as written—the ERA can be used to enshrine subjective gender identity classifications and abortion protections into the U.S. Constitution.

 

The ERA also suffers procedural defects. When the ERA passed Congress in 1972, it included a seven-year deadline for ratification. With the deadline fast approaching, CWA’s founder, Beverly LaHaye, held the first CWA meeting in 1978 to share with women in her community the dangers of the ERA and the anti-God, anti-family rhetoric of the ERA’s supporters. Mrs. LaHaye’s goal was to make sure her friends knew how important it was that the ERA stay out of the Constitution. Thanks to her actions and the leadership of others like Phyllis Schlafly, the ERA was three states short of ratification by its 1978 deadline. Congress voted to extend the deadline to 1982. But even by that time, no new states ratified the ERA. 

 

The ERA is dead. There are measures to retroactively “remove” the 1978 ratification deadline on the ERA, like H.J. Res. 17/S.J. Res. 1. But even according to the Washington Post, a news outlet sympathetic to leftist causes, “every time the issue has been litigated in federal court, most recently in 2021, the pro-ERA side has lost, no matter whether the judge was appointed by a Democrat or Republican.” Under the Trump Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice issued an opinion stating “that Congress had the constitutional authority to impose a deadline on the ratification of the ERA and, because that deadline has expired, the ERA Resolution is no longer pending before the States.” A federal trial court with a judge appointed by President Barack Obama upheld the deadline contained in the 1972 resolution and said that Illinois, Nevada, and Virginia’s ratifications—which came after both the original and extended deadlines that Congress attached to the ERA—are not binding for the purposes of the recognizing the ERA.

 

The Archivist has a unique role in stewarding the rule of law. In addition to preserving the U.S. Constitution and other Founding documents, the Archivist certifies constitutional amendments that states have ratified. The ERA’s procedural defects doom efforts to amend the Constitution using the 1972 resolution. Pro-ERA activists have urged current Archivist David Ferriero to unlawfully certify ratification of the ERA. In response, the Archivist pointed to his “ministerial role” and said that he “defers to [the Justice Department] on this issue and will abide by the [Justice Department] opinion, unless otherwise directed by a final court order.” During her hearing, Dr. Shogan essentially took the same position.

 

So what is the problem? The approach to defer to the Justice Department is unstable. Principled constitutional lawyers at the U.S. Department of Justice under the previous administration recognized that there was no constitutional basis to ratify the ERA. The Archivist abided by this counsel from the Justice Department, and ERA ratification was put on hold. Unfortunately, with the Biden Justice Department, we are facing a situation where the leftist fox is guarding the constitutional-hen house. This very Justice Department is comfortable recognizing the ability of the Veterans Affairs to provide abortions and abortion counseling to veterans even though federal law explicitly writes out abortion from healthcare benefits for veterans. The ERA analysis from the previous administration’s Justice Department is vulnerable to an activist “reinterpretation” by the attorneys in power under the radical Biden Administration.

 

Fortunately, there are Members in Congress who are willing to press the matter. Sen. Lankford has already urged Archivist Ferriero to withstand “ridiculous calls to ignore clear guidance from both the court and the Department of Justice and to unilaterally certify the ERA.” Similarly, Sens. Portman, Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) have pressed Archivist Ferriero to stand by the rule of law.

 

Any pro-ERA attorneys at the Justice Department should heed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s counsel that ERA supporters should start over. Even she did not think that the ERA could be ratified under its 1972 mandate. If the Justice Department were to unlawfully “reinterpret” its understanding of the Constitution in this regard, the Archivist must stand for the rule of law. That is why we must stay engaged on this nomination.

May 17 2022
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Concerned Women to Biden Administration: Stop the Assault on Women’s Rights; Protect Title IX

By | Erasing Women, News and Events, Social / Cultural Issues, Women's Sports | No Comments

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is reviewing the Department of Education’s (ED) plans to unilaterally amend Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) to follow along with the Biden Administration’s radical push for an elevation of the concerns of men who identify as women, over those of women in all areas of federal law. It will effectively be the destruction of Title IX.

 

President Joe Biden has ignored the concerns of millions of women as he moved swiftly on an Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation, and another one on Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, including Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Women lose under the proposed extreme implementations of these orders, and that is why Concerned Women for America (CWA) is standing in strong opposition.

 

Recently, CWA’s Doreen Denny, one of the nation’s leading experts on the protection of women’s rights against the gender identity push that seeks to erase women’s unique makeup as women, Annabelle Rutledge, National Director of CWA’s Young Women for America program, and Mario Diaz, CWA’s General Counsel met with high-level officials from OMB and ED to express the concerns of the hundreds of thousands of concerned women members from around the country.

 

Denny’s statement set the tone for CWA’s clear stance for women and scientific truth in policymaking. She said in part:

 

Forcing a new interpretation of sex under Title IX is a direct threat to every woman and girl in America. What this proposed rule does in practice is nothing less than erase our status and protections as females. There is an inherent conflict in these policies already playing out across the country today:  female students are being assaulted in school restrooms; female athletes are losing their rightful opportunities in WOMEN’s sports. Have you quantified those costs?

 

Let’s be clear: “gender identity” does not equal sex. Therefore, it should not be used to undermine Title IX protections for women. “On the basis of sex” as stated in Title IX, should be based solely on the immutable genetic fact of being male or female – not on gender perceptions.

 

A person’s subjective claim to being the opposite sex does not, and will never, make that person the opposite sex. Gender dysphoria is a real condition, and its treatment deserves compassion – but the answer is not to affirm a lie and require everyone else to comply.

 

Biology is not bigotry. As women, we expect that the sex discrimination protections of Title IX passed into law 50 years ago will continue to protect our safety, privacy, and opportunities based on our objective female status – as intended.   Whatever objective you have for “inclusion” must not be accomplished on the backs of women and girls.    

 

Ms. Rutledge followed up with a passionate plea representing the young female athletes who feel entirely ignored and under threat because of these ill-conceived, radical policies. Her statement said in part:

 

Young Women for America is made up of these brave women in high school, college, and young professionals. Each group is directly impacted by a refusal to uphold Title IX.

 

Our Young Women for America leaders have stepped up to the plate to do their part to protect women’s sports and are begging that you respect reality and basic biology by rejecting any proposed rule which would include gender identity. Gender identity is not sex.

 

We are in an unfortunate situation when high school and college-age females are having to uphold reality while government entities seem bent on undermining Title IX at every turn. Our leaders have asked for excused absences, covered their work shifts, and taken tests early so they can show up and fight for their rights by testifying in committee hearings and press conferences. They understand it is not just their rights, but the rights of all women who are coming behind us.

 

You may not be hearing these tragic stories – but sadly I  hear them too often.

 

You can check out some of the testimonies below:

 

 

Finally, CWA’s General Counsel spoke about the illegality of trying to amend the clear text and protections under Title IX’s legal classification of “sex” by unilaterally changing the meaning to include “gender identity.” Diaz cautioned of the unintended consequences for women and of clear Supreme Court precedent that has ruled against such manipulation of federal law through administrative rules and procedures.

 

The Biden Administration officials were respectful and welcoming of CWA’s comments and expertise in this area. We can only pray that they actually take our counsel and slow down the left’s radical push in this area so that they may stop trampling on hard-fought, historical women’s rights victories in pursuit of a counterfeit diversity policy.

Jul 07 2021
0

A Nightmare Scenario for Women’s Olympic Dreams

By | Erasing Women, News and Events, Sexual Exploitation, Women's Sports | No Comments

By Morgan Schlesselman, CWA Government Relations Intern

For the first time, a transgender athlete will compete in the Olympics. Laurel Hubbard, a biological male from New Zealand, will compete in women’s weightlifting at the age of 43 after undergoing a gender transition at the age of 35. Hubbard meets the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Weightlifting Federation’s requirements, which allow any male-bodied transgender athlete to compete as a woman so long as the athlete’s testosterone level is below 10 nanomoles per liter. However, elite female athletes have a testosterone range of 0.12 to 1.79 nanomoles per liter, which means that Hubbard could have five times or more the amount of testosterone compared to the rest of the competition.

The news of Hubbard’s qualification for the Olympic team has stirred up responses from members of the weightlifting community. Belgian super-heavyweight weightlifter Anna Vanbellinghen, who offered her support for the transgender community, made it clear that “this particular situation is unfair to the sport and to the athletes. So why is it still a question whether two decades, from puberty to the age of 35, with the hormonal system of a man also would give an advantage [in competing against women]?”

Similarly, former New Zealand weightlifter Tracey Lambrechs said, “When I was told to drop the category because Laurel was obviously going to be their number one super, it was heartbreaking, like super soul-destroying. And it’s unfortunate that some female, somewhere is like, ‘Well, I’m going to miss out on going to the Olympics, on achieving my dream, representing my country because a transgendered athlete is able to compete.’”

In addition to weightlifters voicing their concerns over Hubbard’s spot on the Olympic team, organizations that support women’s rights have made statements, too. Save Women’s Sport Australasia said, “It is flawed policy from the IOC that has allowed the selection of a 43-year-old biological male who identifies as a woman to compete in the female category. Males do have a performance advantage that is based on their biological sex. They outperform us on every single metric – speed, stamina, strength. Picking testosterone is a red herring … We are forgetting about the anatomy, the faster twitch muscle, the bigger organs.”

Vice President of Government Relations for Concerned Women for America, Doreen Denny, warned of the ramifications of this decision, “For the purpose and future of women’s sports, this is devastating news. It creates a mockery of women’s sports.” More of Denny’s comments can be found here.

As Tracey Lambrechs mentioned earlier, this policy impacts the dreams of girls all over the world. Women and girls deserve the opportunity to have a fair playing field and equal competition; competing against a 43-year-old biological male in women’s sports is not that.

As for the United States, Chelsea Wolfe became the first trans athlete to be on a U.S. Olympic roster by making it as an alternate on the BMX freestyle team. However, a World Athletics policy did prevent a biological male from taking an opportunity away from a biological female in the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic trials. Cece Telfer, who in May 2019 became the first biological male to win a national NCAA track and field title in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, after competing  on the men’s team just sixteen months prior, was ruled ineligible for the U.S. Olympic trials. U.S.A. Track and Field determined that Telfer’s testosterone levels did not meet the requirement to compete. While this decision avoided the controversy, Telfer should not have been in the running in the first place.

As a result of Hubbard’s participation, women’s super-heavyweight weightlifting may be among the most watched events at the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer. Unfortunately, not for the right reasons. As Save Women’s Sport Australasia said previously, biological males have specific anatomy that give them an advantage in speed, stamina, and strength that cannot be evaluated or mitigated by testosterone levels alone. In order to protect the integrity and future of women’s sports, the main criterion should be quite simple: on the basis of biological sex.

Jun 23 2021
0

Olympics 2021: An Unfair Playing Field

By | Erasing Women, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sexual Exploitation, Women's Sports | No Comments

For the first time ever, a transgender athlete has qualified for an Olympic team. Laurel Hubbard of New Zealand was selected for their national team on Monday and will compete in the “super-heavyweight” category in the weightlifting competition.

Vice President of Government Relations for Concerned Women for America, Doreen Denny, had this to say: “This is a devastating decision. It creates a mockery of women’s sports.” Denny went on to explain how changing the rules based on gender identity is a huge disadvantage to women.

Although Hubbard falls within the limit for testosterone levels to compete on the women’s team, she still has five times the amount of testosterone found within the average woman.

Watch below for the full story.

 

Jun 17 2021
0

Press Release:  Education Department Throws the Civil Rights of Women Under the Bus

By | Erasing Women, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Press Releases, Women's Sports | No Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2021

Contact:
Jacklyn Washington
202-748-3501, [email protected]

 Education Department Redefines Sex to Throw the Civil Rights of Women Under the Bus

A sham and a shame. Our daughters deserve better.

 Washington, D.C. – Just one week before the June 23 anniversary of Title IX, the Biden Administration has unconstitutionally reinterpreted the meaning of sex and effectively thrown the rights of women and girls under the bus. The landmark federal civil rights law enacted 49 years ago to prohibit sex-based discrimination and protect women has just been used to erase female status and turn Title IX on its head.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a Notice of Interpretation explaining that “sex-based discrimination” includes gender identity and sexual orientation. The expansion of this definition means the government wants to force us to live under the fantasy that biology no longer matters and that the Biden Administration will no longer protect the equal rights of women and girls in education and athletics as intended.

From day one, the Biden Administration has been declaring war on what it means to be a woman. From replacing the word “mothers” with “birthing people” in its legislative proposals to leaving female athletes in a field of lost dreams, the Democrats have turned back the clock on decades of progress for women’s rights.

This decision is outrageous and insulting to every woman in America. It is detrimental to the safety, privacy, and opportunities of female students and athletes. Even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an icon of the feminist movement, understood that sex-based classifications could be permissible because certain “differences between men and women” are “enduring.” For years, we’ve watched young, courageous, female athletes work to excel in women’s sports and demonstrate a simple point: sex-separated sports are at the heart of fair competition because men have innate physiological advantages over women based on immutable biological differences.

Unfortunately, in this radical woke era that elevates self-declared identity over reality, women and girls have been sidelined by leftist ideologues who demand any man can claim female status and have full access to our sex-separated spaces and sports.

Concerned Women for America (CWA), the largest public policy organization for women in the nation, has been on the front lines of the battle to defend Title IX for female students and athletes. Last week, Doreen Denny, CWA’s Vice President of Government Affairs, provided live testimony for the U.S. Department of Education’s virtual public hearing.

With this radical reinterpretation of Title IX coming on the heels of a full week of testimony and thousands of public comments, the Department of Education’s decision was obviously made before the results were in. President Joe Biden and Secretary Miguel Cardona clearly don’t care about what the American people, including the majority of women, have to say or about safety and fairness for women and girls.

A sham and a shame. Our daughters deserve better.

###

Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) is the legislation and advocacy arm of Concerned Women for America. Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization with a rich 40-year history of helping our members across the country bring Biblical principles into all levels of public policy.

Jun 09 2021
0

The Equality Act: Our Cultural Crisis

By | Erasing Women, Media, News and Events | No Comments

This radical woke era is one in which Sleeping Beauty might not want to wake. If she did, she’d be surprised to learn that even Prince Charming could be a woman these days. Our Vice President of Government Affairs, Doreen Denny, gave a recent speech highlighting the hypocrisy and dangers that are wrapped inside the inadequately named “Equality Act.”

Listen wherever you stream your podcasts or by clicking play below:

Apr 23 2021
0

Transgenderism vs. Transformation: CWA in the Fight-Episode 1

By | Erasing Women, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sexual Exploitation, Vulnerable Children | No Comments

Radical gender ideology has a chokehold on the very institutions that are meant to protect, educate, and uplift our children. Now more than ever, it is critical that parents are aware of the issues their children are facing and the permanent changes these mystery drugs being pushed on them can inflict. Our very own Vice President of Government Relations, Doreen Denny, sat down with Star Parker to unpack exactly what this means and how people of faith must activate to fight back. 

To view Doreen’s interview, start at 17:50.

 To view Doreen’s episode 2 interview, start at 17:40.

Apr 08 2021
0

Wanted: Governors of Courage to Stand Against Radical Gender Ideology

By | Defense of Family, Erasing Women, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sexual Exploitation, Vulnerable Children | No Comments

By Doreen Denny, Vice President of Government Relations

In the past two weeks, we have seen significant progress in the fight against radical gender ideology in the states. Importantly, many state legislatures are embracing these debates generating greater awareness of the realities and harms at stake. They are also underscoring the necessity of having governors of courage. 

Last week, Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-Arkansas) joined Gov. Tate Reeves (R-Mississippi) in signing the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” into law. These are notable victories following Idaho’s enactment of the first such bill last year signed by Gov. Eric Little (R-Idaho) and immediately challenged, as expected, in a lawsuit leveled by the ACLU. 

Gov. Kristi Noem (R-South Dakota) did the opposite. She responded to the passage of a popular House Bill promoting continued fairness in women’s sports with a “form and style” veto capitulating to noisy activists and dubious NCAA threats. Noem demanded the South Dakota legislature rewrite big portions of the bill, including removing protections for college women athletes. By putting a price tag on winning her signature, she effectively torpedoed the bill causing female athletes in her state to lose out. 

Big majorities of the public agree on protecting women’s sports for female athletes, so why the fear?   Assuring fair play for women and girls based on biological sex, not gender identity, should be something on which we can all agree. It should be a matter of biological fact, physiological advantage, and basic civil rights, not partisanship or political activism. Male athletes should not be competing in women’s sports, regardless of how they identify.

The governor’s surrender in South Dakota contrasted acts of courage by governors in Mississippi and Arkansas. It will take governors of courage across America to turn the tide toward regaining women’s rights as athletes and against hyped threats from left-wing activists, the ACLU, NCAA, woke corporations, and the Biden-Harris administration, which has thrown the gauntlet further. More governors may have the opportunity to make this choice in the coming weeks. 

Women’s sports is not the only place radical gender ideology has taken root. It is also happening on social media, in school counseling offices, and in transgender pediatric clinics where children and youth are only affirmed in their self-declared “gender identities” with irreversible medical and surgical treatments. It takes courage to stand against the Big Gender interests behind this craze damaging our daughters.  

This week, Gov. Hutchinson acted in opposite fashion on the issue of protecting children from transgender promotion. Hutchinson vetoed a bill called the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act which would prevent experimental gender treatments and surgeries on minors, citing “government overreach” (even though many government laws shield the health and safety of children from harm). A veto-proof majority had passed the measure in both Arkansas chambers and quickly chided the governor’s retreat by overriding his veto. We applaud their courage to lead and enact the first child protection bill of its kind in the nation.

A greedy and negligent medical industry is shrouding the truth about the rising incidence of gender dysphoria, disregarding the reckless and harmful nature of treatment and denying children, who have no capacity for informed consent, the ability to grow up and out of dysphoric conditions. Instead, medical activists tell parents it is the “standard of care” and the best way to deal with gender-confusion and depression. They compel life-altering decisions that stop normal development and place children on a never-ending road of opposite sex hormone treatments that make empty promises about becoming the opposite sex – a scientific impossibility.  

South Dakota was in a similar battle last year where the same governor postured concern instead of conviction over what it sought to address: the serious damage to children being inflicted by promoters of transgender medical experiments on youth. She aided the bill’s defeat in a Senate committee. 

Courageous leaders in Congress are joining legislators in other states in protecting women’s sports and protecting children, most notably in South Carolina, where Democrat Representative Cezar McKnight is spearheading a bipartisan bill, the “South Carolina Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act,” to shield children from reckless transgender treatment. These leaders need encouragement for their courageous stand. 

Concerned Women for America is committed to our role in educating policymakers and citizens on these issues and being a voice of courage standing against radical gender ideology as a promise to America’s children. Our prayer is that all governors will respond to the momentum in their states on these serious issues confronting our culture by standing for truth, at such a time as this, and leading the way.    

Mar 26 2021
0

Happily never after: Democrats push a modern-day war on women

By | Erasing Women, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sexual Exploitation | No Comments

Washington Examiner Op-ed by Doreen Denny, Vice President of Government Relations

If Sleeping Beauty awakened today, she may be shocked to learn that being a woman no longer means being female. Gender perception trumps biological reality. In fact, biology is downright bigotry in the progressive-era redefinition of the age-old understanding of sex as the immutable genetic code of being male or female. Prince Charming could have ovaries.

What Sleeping Beauty would find is a culture in chaos. The tempest of this 21st-century moment? A Democratic majority beholden to left-wing activists and propped up by media that temper any balanced reporting of the facts, evidence, or novel narratives that challenge tradition. Social media platforms and their attendant mobs ban truth-telling in the name of “fake news” and censor dissent.

No wonder that the Equal Rights Amendment and the so-called Equality Act are being advanced without any examination of the war on women they portend. Any scrutiny could expose their kiss of deception.

House Democrats passed a partisan resolution to “extend the deadline” of the Equal Rights Amendment by a vote of 222-204. Never mind that a federal district court recently declared that the ERA ratification effort expired with no option to resuscitate. The deadline passed long ago, said the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in an opinion from the Obama-appointed judge in Virginia v. Ferriero.

Mar 18 2021
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Penny on CBN: This Should Be Called the INequality Act

By | CEO, Erasing Women, Media, News and Events | No Comments

Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America discussed the Equality Act on Faith Nation. Penny had this to say about the Equality Act: “It diminishes the rights of people of faith. This is wrongly named; it should be called the “INequality Act”.

Watch Penny’s interview on CBN below.

Feb 26 2021
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Equality Act Exposes Radical Gender Ideology and Need for “Promise to America’s Children”

By | Erasing Women, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Religious Liberty, Sexual Exploitation, Vulnerable Children | No Comments

The “Equality Act” (H.R. 5) just passed a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives for the second time, but for opponents, including Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC), the latest result offers encouraging signs. This time, the deceptively-named Equality Act – proposing a revolutionary redefinition of sex in federal civil rights law with far-reaching and harmful implications for women, children, and people of faith – received only three Republican votes (less than half of the eight cast in 2019).

More are coming to see how radical gender ideology endangers children’s minds, bodies, and relationships with their parents—and the Equality Act would cement it into law.

Democrats bypassed any congressional hearings and denied any amendments, flexing their power muscle to force a vote but also fearing too much scrutiny. Republicans were ready to speak with conviction and clarity against the extremism of the bill.

As Penny Nance, CEO and President, said in a statement, “The gender ideology of the elitist left erases the ability to differentiate between men and women and denies the harm this inflicts on women and children. Democrats should fear any examination of the real impact of the ‘Equality Act’ because Americans reject its destructive agenda.”

As the Equality Act was being debated on the House floor, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) was questioning President Biden’s HHS nominee, Dr. Rachel Levine, in a Senate committee hearing. Dr. Levine, who is transgender, has promoted the use of gender transition medical treatments and surgeries on minors.  Sen. Paul’s questions emphasized the reckless approach of gender affirmation ideology that freely administers damaging and irreversible medical transition treatments on children who self-declare a desire for a sex change. Please watch this clip and share this shocking exchange that shows what’s at stake in the Equality Act.

Rising against these threats, the Promise to America’s Children initiative has launched. The Promise recognizes that our children are most at risk of harm in a culture sowing gender confusion and chaos. It frames the conflict and the solutions in this context: protecting children’s minds, protecting children’s bodies, and protecting children’s relationships with their parents. The 10-point Promise identifies principles that should guide policy and advocacy. It equips and invites others to take a stand against the harms of radical gender ideology endangering our children. It provides model legislation for policymakers.

Concerned Women for America is participating with the Heritage Foundation, Alliance Defending Freedom, and others as a national partner in this important movement. State legislators are signing the Promise and taking action by sponsoring legislation. Parents, citizens, and policymakers are encouraged to sign the Promise and take action in their schools and communities.

In endorsing the Promise to America’s Children, Penny Nance declared,

“America’s children are our most precious gifts. Concerned Women for America believes that as parents and leaders, it is our duty to protect their minds, bodies, and souls – all of which are under attack by a radical sexual agenda …. CWA supports the Promise to America’s Children so that our daughters and granddaughters will be assured of fairness on the playing field and bodily privacy and dignity in intimate spaces. I call upon lawmakers and other leaders to sign this pledge and commit to defending our children both personally and in the public square.”

Join the movement to protect our children and defeat the Equality Act, which is now moving to the Senate. We need every concerned citizen to rise to the challenge facing our culture through prayer AND action. Check how your Representative voted on the Equality Act here, and please contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to oppose the Equality Act through our Action Center today!

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Feb 19 2021
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For America (Day 117)

By | Defense of Family, Erasing Women, LBB, News and Events, Prayer, Sexual Exploitation | No Comments

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name forever.
With thankful hearts, we behold
Your awesome works from the beginning.

You are Faithful and True
Still moving in the midst of Your people.
Help us fret not for evildoers.
They are like grass withering away.

But Your Word stands forever.
We delight in Your counsel and Your statutes,
We crave to know You more and more,
To increase in faith and trust; this is our goal.

Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ
To be our Savior—to show us the way of salvation.
His example is our encouragement and aim,
Oh, to be more like Him, each and every day.

We stand in the great promises of Scripture.
We delight ourselves in You Lord,
Knowing You will give us the desires of our heart.
Give us righteous desires Abba, Father.

For often we seek after the wrong things
Thinking they will somehow fill the hole in our hearts,
When we know it is a God-shaped hole we bear,
And only living water will ease our thirst.

Lord, we pray for the assault on sexuality
The enemy is leveling against our world.
We pray against the increasing gender confusion,
Against the identity crisis he seeks to create in Your creation.

But our identity is found in Christ,
Let that healing lesson spread among those who hurt today.
Our hearts break for them; do not let the enemy get away
With his schemes to establish a lie as a foundational truth in their lives.

Let the truth that You are our Creator shine ever so brightly.
May we commit our ways to You, Lord,
For we know You will act. And You are good!
You are God.

In the name of Jesus, we pray,
Amen.

—

Click here for more prayers from our “For America” Prayer Journal.

 

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Jan 06 2021
0

I will not allow who I am to be erased. Will you?

By | Erasing Women, News and Events | No Comments

By Keri Ann Thompson, CWA Staff

I have several roles in my life that I cherish and would not want to change for any amount of money or treasure. They are: wife, mother, daughter, sister, godmother, and aunt. There is a feeling of belonging and identity that happens with those words.

I am a wife. My husband chose me, and I chose him. I didn’t earn it. He saw something in me that made him want to cherish me, protect me, love me. I saw something in him that made me want to walk beside him and be his confidant. As my husband, he is my provider and protector.  As his wife, I am his constant companion and support. We are different, yet we are equal.

I am a mother. Again, I didn’t earn it. This title is so incredibly precious to me. I was told at a young age that I would likely not have children. We were so surprised after seven years of marriage to find that I was pregnant. We had a beautiful son, then found out about two years later found that we were pregnant again. Tragically, we lost that baby to miscarriage.  Blessedly, we have our rainbow baby girl who came along about a year-and-a-half later.  Hearing them call me “Mommy” is one of the greatest blessings of my day each day. No other person will be their mommy, just like no other person will be their daddy.

I am a daughter. Once again, I had no choice in the matter. Biology made me a girl.  God’s wisdom gave me my unique set of parents. I played with both G.I. Joe and Barbie with my friends; I skateboarded and rode bikes; I climbed trees and jumped out of them; I wore a dress to church on Sunday. These things didn’t make me a daughter or a son. Biology did that.

I am a sister. What a unique bond sisters have. My sister and I did not get along well when we were kids, but now we are an integral part of each other’s lives. I did not choose my sister.  She was chosen for me, and I for her. To say that we are “siblings” is technically correct but does not connotate the depth of feeling and relationship that we have. There was a time when “sibling” would have been enough for me. Now, only “sister” carries the weight of our bond.

I am a godmother and an aunt. These relationships are the same to me, except that I got to choose to be a godmother. I did not choose my two nephews, but I did choose my goddaughter and godson. I love these four as if they were my own children. I want what is best for them. I love getting to spoil them, teach them, pray for them, and interact in their lives.  I love that they can see me as a second mother to them.

I have other roles in life. I am an employee, a teacher, a friend, a confidant, a counselor, and many more things. None of these things carry the weight to me that those listed previously do.  There is a responsibility in those words. There is honor in those words. There is character in those words.

The 117th Congress of the United States of America has decided that those words no longer have any meaning. This small group of people has decided that who I am, what I am, how I identify myself does not matter. As women, we have fought for centuries to be seen as having equal rights with the men around us. We fought for the right to vote.  We broke through stereotypes and became business owners, leaders in our communities, and even members of Congress.  We have worked so hard to be seen as equals. “Equal” does not mean “erased.”  Why are we now allowing ourselves to be erased?

I am a spouse, but more than that, I am a wife.

I am a parent, but more than that, I am a mom.

I am a child, but more than that, I am a daughter.

I am a sibling, but more than that, I am a sister.

I am a relative, but more than that, I am a godmother and aunt.

I will not allow who I am to be erased. Will you?

Jun 18 2020
0

Despite Bad Ruling at the Supreme Court, HHS Issues Final Rule Upholding Traditional Definition of Sex

By | Blog, Erasing Women, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Sexual Exploitation, Social / Cultural Issues | No Comments

Last year,  President Trump, through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), proposed a rule to overturn an erroneous interpretation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that redefined the word “sex” to include “gender identity” and “termination of pregnancy.” Concerned Women for America supporters mobilized in support of this change, submitting some 2,000 comments in favor of this essential regulatory change to protect life and health.

Last week, HHS announced the final rule to make this fix permanent and in doing so reasserted the rule of law that government regulations must be consistent with laws passed by Congress. The new rule clarifies that Section 1557 of the ACA does not force a recipient of federal funding to include abortion or gender transition treatment as a mandate to comply with anti-discrimination laws based on sex.

CWA called it the Conscience Care Rule because HHS has acted to restore consistency with the First Amendment and the intent and longstanding interpretation of civil rights laws. It also upholds the integrity of pro-life policy, conscience rights, and religious liberty protections in current law.

With the Supreme Court issuing a horrible ruling this week that transgender status must now be interpreted as “sex” under Title VII workplace discrimination laws, the HHS rule change is an essential and timely clarification that the federal definition of sex discrimination under health care programs does not include abortion or gender identity, but aligns with biological sex. For many healthcare providers, performing abortions or providing sex reassignment treatment is a violation of conscience and sound medical practice.

The HHS Conscience Care Rule represents a final roll back of the Obama-era regulation which had been blocked by a federal court that agreed the mandate to redefine sex exceeded its statutory authority. It also lifts many costly regulatory requirements, such as requiring insurance companies to explain benefits in writing in 16 languages. This rule is estimated to save taxpayers $3.6 billion over five years.

We applaud the Trump Administration for holding true to the text of the ACA statute, not an activist interpretation as Obama did. Congress’ sole responsibility to write the law under Article 1 of the Constitution should not be defied by administrative activism in the executive branch or judicial activism in the courts.

May 23 2019
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House Votes on (In)Equality Act and Rejects Efforts to Save Women’s Sports

By | Blog, Defense of Family, Erasing Women, Feminist / Women's Issues, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Social / Cultural Issues, Women's Sports | No Comments

Last week, the House passed H.R. 5, the deceptively-named “Equality Act” by a vote of 236-173.  By redefining the term sex to include “sexual orientation and gender identity” in civil rights law, this bill elevates “gender identity” over the protected class of sex as male and female, giving any person the right to claim “gender identity” as the opposite sex at any time.  This sounds absurd, but the bill strips women from any protection from men who would identify as women in bathrooms, locker rooms, women’s shelters, sports competition, and more.

Before final passage, Republicans attempted to expose the threats to female athletes with a “motion to recommit with instructions.” A motion to recommit (MTR) is a procedural vote that would send the bill back to the relevant House committee with instructions on changes that should be made.  If an MTR is successful, a vote on final passage would be delayed until the committee fixes the bill and sends it back to the whole House for consideration.

The so-called Equality Act effectively erases women’s sports by opening up any competition to biological men who identify as women. The MTR for H.R. 5 was very narrowly tailored to amend the bill to ensure that nothing may be construed to weaken any protections under Title IX to ensure female athletes have equal opportunity.  This would have at least safeguarded the integrity of girls’ and women’s sports. Negating Title IX in the so-called “Equality Act” is a deep flaw in the bill, acknowledged by people across the political spectrum.  Unfortunately, the MTR was rejected along party lines by a vote of 181-228.

The need to protect female sports is not a hypothetical situation; the unfair playing field is happening already because of similar state and local laws. Selina Soule, a high school track athlete in Connecticut, lost her chance to compete in the New England championship this year after two biological males took first and second place in the 55-meter dash. This week, CeCe Telfer, who previously competed as a male, has stolen an opportunity for a female athlete to compete in the 100 and 400-meter hurdles in the NCAA Division II Women’s Track and Field Championships.

The so-called Equality Act’s unverifiable and unscientific attempt to address discrimination by elevating protections for certain groups on the basis of a new definition of sex is a direct threat against every woman in America.  Its effects are nothing less than extreme, far-reaching, and uncontainable and the gutting of Title IX is just one of these effects. Supporters have no way of defending the “Equality Act” against these threats to women even though basic common sense makes it obvious to most people. It’s a shame 228 House members blindly jumped on the bandwagon.

At this time, the Senate has no plans to take up the bill. However, 46 Senators, almost half the Senate, are cosponsors of the identical Senate bill. It remains a threat that must be opposed.

May 22 2019
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Penny Nance Discusses the “Equality Act” on Tucker Carlson Tonight

By | CEO, Erasing Women, Feminist / Women's Issues, News and Events, Religious Liberty, Sexual Exploitation | No Comments


Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) CEO & President Penny Nance joins Tucker Carlson on his Fox News Show, alongside feminist Natasha Chart of the Women’s Liberation Front to express their historic joint opposition to the so called Equality Act, which will have numerous detrimental effects for women.

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