Open letter to Senator Gavarone:
You recently co-sponsored a law that gave the state government the authority to determine the gender of every child in Ohio. I have a question for you: How would you classify a child with androgen insensitivity disorder? In this disorder, a fetus inherits an X and a Y chromosome, which usually causes the baby to develop as a physical male. However, the syndrome prevents the fetus from utilizing male hormones, so typical male development does not occur. At birth, the appearance of the baby is partially or completely female. If the child has the “complete” version of this syndrome, the child is often declared female at birth, and there is no indication that she is not a typical female until the age of puberty, when the symptoms of the disorder become apparent.
In House Bill 68, the law you passed, biological sex is defined as “the biological indication of male and female, including chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, and nonambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth, without regard to an individual’s psychological, chosen, or subjective experience of gender.” Using this definition, I cannot determine if a child who is born with male chromosomes but is female in external appearance should be classified as male or female. If this child decides to pursue sports, should the child play on the boys’ team or on the girls’ team?
Please clarify which characteristics are most important in determining gender. Do genes matter more than physical development, or is physical development the determining factor?
We must have this information to ensure compliance with the law. Your law forbids males to participate on athletic teams designated for females. Thus, coaches must know how to verify the gender of a child. Should the child’s genetics be tested, or does the child’s genitalia need to be inspected?
In my research I encountered quite a few disorders that cause atypical gender development. Some had exotic names such as aromatase deficiency and 5-alpha-reductase deficiency. Understanding the complexities of gender development requires expertise in fields such as anatomy, genetics, and the endocrine system.
Senator Gavarone, your background is in law, not biology. Please stay in your lane and concentrate on bringing jobs to Ohio, building roads, and giving us safe drinking water. Leave medical decisions to doctors who have the necessary training and to parents who best understand the needs of their children.
Debbie Dalke
Bowling Green
