WASHINGTON - The US Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance updating its official definitions of terms such as sex, female, and male on Feb 19, following US President Donald Trump’s executive orders limiting transgender rights.

The guidance reiterates the Trump administration’s stance that male and female are the only two sexes, and that they cannot be changed.

It is one of the first actions taken by Mr Robert F. Kennedy Jr. following his confirmation last week as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

“This administration is bringing back common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government,” Mr Kennedy said. “The prior administration’s policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over.”

Mr Trump seeks to end what he says was the government’s promotion of “gender ideology,” a loose term often used by conservative groups to reference ideologies that promote non-traditional views on sex and gender.

Rights activists view the term as an anti-LGBTQ trope and dehumanising.

Transgender rights have become a contentious political topic in recent years. Several Republicans campaigned to reverse transgender laws during November’s election season.

Mr Trump signed a slew of executive orders on his first day in office, ending a range of policies aimed at promoting racial equity and protecting rights for LGBTQ+ people.

The Feb 19 guidance defines female as “a person of the sex characterised by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing eggs” and male as “a person of the sex characterised by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing sperm.”

“The sex of a human, female or male, is determined genetically at conception (fertilisation), and is observable before birth,” according to the guidance.

HHS also said it was complying with another Mr Trump order by taking steps to prevent the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children, an apparent reference to treatments, often called gender-affirming care, that include puberty-blocking medication, hormones and sometimes surgery.

It did not specify what actions it was taking. A federal judge has temporarily blocked health agencies from enforcing the order. REUTERS

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