Sponsors (37)
The bill trades greater clarity and uniformity in federal documents through mandated sex-based terminology for administrative burden and heightened risk of excluding transgender and nonbinary people, narrowing access to services, and provoking legal conflicts across agencies.
Federal agencies and employees will use consistent, sex-based terminology (e.g., 'woman,' 'pregnant woman') and clear definitions (e.g., 'female,' 'mother'), reducing ambiguity in official documents and helping agencies interpret statutes and regulations more uniformly.
Federal agencies and employees must revise regulations, forms, and guidance within 30 days, creating administrative costs, staff time burdens, and potential disruption for agencies and state partners.
People who do not identify with the prescribed sex-based language (including many transgender and nonbinary individuals) may be excluded, receive less affirming communications, and face narrower interpretations of eligibility for services or accommodations.
Mandating strict biological/sex-based definitions risks conflicting with existing agency policies and legal interpretations, increasing legal challenges, inconsistency across programs (health, benefits, civil rights enforcement), and uncertainty for beneficiaries and administrators.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires federal agencies to stop using “birthing person” and instead use specified sex‑based terms (female, mother, pregnant female/woman, or woman) in all official documents.
Prohibits federal agencies from using the term “birthing person” or any variation in official documents and requires agencies to use one of five specified terms—"female," "mother," "pregnant female," "pregnant woman," or "woman"—when referring to someone who is pregnant, giving birth, or a parent. It defines those terms using biological/sex‑based language and takes effect 30 days after the law is enacted.
Introduced January 23, 2026 by Sheri Biggs · Last progress January 23, 2026