Hartzler Opposes Harmful Legislation Designed to Diminish Women’s Rights

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-04) issued the following statement on her opposition to H.R. 5, the Equality Act, in the United States House of Representatives:

“On occasion, Congressional leaders will purposely misname a piece of legislation to disguise its true intention. The Equality Act is the epitome of this misrepresentation,” Hartzler said. “This legislation is an affront on women’s rights and forces individuals to recognize biological males as females, decimating decades of women’s advancements and civil rights. Should this bill become law, the wellbeing of our children, the role of parents, the privacy and safety of vulnerable women, the competitive edge of female athletes, the livelihoods of charities and businesses, and the integrity of our healthcare system will all be jeopardized. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

For our society to grow stronger, we need to build up the traits that make each of us unique, not walk back decades of progress to minimize our differences. America’s children deserve better than to become victims of the Equality Act.”

The Equality Act would have the following effects:

• Outlawing sex-specific domestic violence or homeless shelters, locker rooms at gyms and schools, and showering and restroom facilities.. Any place of public accommodation and any entity that receives federal funding will be bound by H.R. 5’s new definition of sex. For examples, read about the Downtown Hope Center or the Poverello House.
• Women can no longer expect or request female only hospital rooms, group showers, juvenile detention facilities, or rape crisis centers. For an example, see here.
• Women’s and girl’s athletics will be subverted by men and boys transitioning to female, or even those who might falsely claim to be women. Title IX, the federal civil rights provision guaranteeing girls the same educational opportunities as boys, would become irrelevant under H.R. 5. For examples, read about track runner Selina Soule or mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Tamikka Brents.
• Under H.R. 5, employers would be required to recognize gender identity over biological sex when making employment decisions where sex is considered a bona fide occupational qualification. Employers could no longer base hiring decisions where biological sex is a necessary consideration, such as when hiring TSA agents to administer pat-down searches on female passengers, teacher monitoring locker rooms or bathrooms for elementary girls, guards in women’s prisons, or doctors providing intimate medical exams on women.
• Employers offering health insurance, regardless of the organization’s mission, would be required to cover sex reassignment surgery. Religious charities like Little Sisters of the Poor could not opt out of this requirement or take such a case to court.
• Family-owned businesses, like Jack Phillips’ Masterpiece Cakeshop or Barronelle Stutzman’s Arlene’s Flowers would be required to celebrate same-sex unions and transition procedures.
• “Misgendering” or using the wrong pronouns to describe an individual could be considered harassment and could cost an employee his or her job. For an example, read about Virginia high school teacher Peter Vlaming.
• By amending Title IV of the Civil Rights Act, the ‘desegregation of public education’, the Equality Act would pressure K-12 schools to teach gender fluid and self-affirming gender identities as part of the sex ed curriculum.
• Secular all-female universities would be required to accept male students identifying as female students.
• Under H.R. 5, the medical profession will not have the option to guide kids experiencing gender dysphoria through puberty without prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or even surgery. As a result, parents who fail to affirm their child’s gender identity will not be able to find appropriate medical care and may lose custody of their child. This has already happened in Ohio - read about it here.
• Faith-based foster care and adoption care agencies that prefer child placements with a mother and a father will be labeled “discriminatory” and be forced to permanently closed. This is already happening in states and cities that have adopted SOGI laws and ordinances (see Kids Deserve More for ongoing SOGI lawsuits in Michigan and Philadelphia).
• Provides a universal right to abortion, compromises taxpayer safeguards against funding abortion, and eliminates conscience protections for health care providers who do not want to participate in abortion.