VICE World News reported that the new British prime minister Liz Truss “is trying to block Scotland’s plans to allow trans people to self-identify as male or female.” According to two government insiders, Truss is seeking legal advice on how to “pause or prevent” the Scottish government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill.
The Scottish government, which has devolved powers for equality legislation, intends to pass a law reducing the need for a medical diagnosis, lowering the minimum age from 18 to 16, and requiring people to live just three months as their “acquired gender” before allowing the legal switch.
A spokesperson for the U.K. Government Equality Hub said: “The Government is working with Scottish counterparts and other stakeholders to explore the considerations of the bill and any implications for England and Wales.”
Here are four reasons to be hopeful that Truss will uphold the biological reality of sex.
- Last year, when asked during an interview about the requisite sex organs for being female, Truss replied “women do have vaginas.”
- As equalities minister, Truss oversaw the decision to remove “gender identity” from the ban on conversion therapy.
- She scrapped “self-identification” proposals.
- Last month, when asked about medicalized gender transitions for minors, she said that “under-18s shouldn’t be able to make irreversible decisions.”