New battle over transgender rights erupts as U.S. midterms draw near
WASHINGTON — The transgender rights movement in the United States has suddenly found itself thrust into the battle for control of Capitol Hill.
With U.S. midterms just two weeks away, an internal Department of Health and Human Services memo leaked to the New York Times proposes defining gender as an immutable biological condition determined by a person’s sex organs at birth.
The report brought an onslaught of protesters to the front lawn of the White House earlier this week, accusing U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration of eroding LGBTQ rights and trying to legislate transgender Americans out of existence.
In the politically riven U.S., it can be hard to know how controversial social policy developments will play. But on balance, the move is more likely to hurt than help Republicans at the polls, said Capri Cafaro, executive in residence at American University’s School of Public Affairs.