Elective abortion is ‘violence,’ not ‘medicine,’ says UT Austin professor.
Two University of Texas at Austin professors are challenging the Biden administration's changes to Title IX, arguing that the new interpretation could force students to miss school for elective abortions.
Finance professor John Hatfield and philosophy professor Daniel Bonevac recently joined a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton challenging the Department of Education's new regulations, according to a press release from America First Legal, which represents them.
Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions that receive federal funding. But America First Legal said the Biden administration recently reinterpreted the law to prohibit “discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Among other things, Hatfield and Bonevac argue that the new interpretation could allow students to take time off for elective abortions, which are illegal in Texas.
In a legal declaration, Bonevac said one of the issues was that the new rules prohibit discrimination based on a student's “pregnancy or related conditions,” including elective abortion.
Bonevac said it would allow students to miss school for abortions if medically necessary, but could not “accept acts of violence against the most vulnerable and defenseless members of the human family.”
“I will not accept purely elective abortions that serve only to kill fetuses conceived through voluntary and consensual acts of sexual intercourse,” he said in his declaration. “Pregnancy is not a disease and elective abortion is not ‘health care’ or ‘medical treatment’ of any kind.”
According to a press release, Hatfield and Bonevac also “refuse to be forced to use grammatically incorrect or made-up pronouns” or allow teaching assistants to cross-dress in the classroom.
Professors also argue that these changes could affect the factors they consider when deciding whether to hire teaching assistants. For example, it said it could be considered discrimination if a professor refuses to hire a candidate because he or she has violated the law, such as shipping or receiving abortion pills and abortion-related equipment.
Stephen Miller, president of America First Legal, said in a press release that the litigants are asking a federal judge for a preliminary injunction that would immediately block the Biden administration's implementation of the changes.
Miller joined the professors in calling the changes “an attack on girls and women.”
“Biden’s new Title IX regulations would force girls in every public school in America to share bathrooms, locker rooms and private facilities with men,” Miller said. She said, “A destructive and abusive ideology that will change a child’s gender and turn a boy into a girl and a girl into a boy through drugs and mutilation will be forced on millions of children.”
The Independent Women's Forum Legal Center expressed similar concerns late last month when it announced plans to sue the Biden administration. college fix It has been reported.
In a press release, center director May Mailman said the changes “will allow for the intrusion of women’s spaces,” including exercise programs.
The new regulations involve many conservative groups. One of the many problems is that the Department of Education does not have the authority to rewrite the 1975 law.
More: 'Severe regression': Riley Gaines slams Biden's Title IX rules at pro-women's sports rally
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