The Texas House of Representatives advanced legislation Saturday that would legally define “man” and “woman” based strictly on reproductive anatomy at birth, effectively excluding recognition of transgender and nonbinary people in state records.
House Bill 229, dubbed the “Women’s Bill of Rights” by its author Rep. Ellen Troxclair (R-Austin), passed preliminarily 86–36. It would require state documents to reflect sex assigned at birth, impacting more than 120,000 transgender Texans, even those who have legally changed their documents.
Democrats condemned the bill. Rep. Jessica González (D-Dallas) called it “harmful” and “really freaking insulting.” Others said it would also negatively impact intersex individuals and violate constitutional rights.
The legislation aligns with Gov. Greg Abbott’s January executive order and a legal opinion by Attorney General Ken Paxton, both asserting Texas only recognizes two sexes.
A companion bill, SB 1257, also passed preliminarily. It would require insurance plans that cover gender-affirming care to cover the full cost of detransition-related care, even retroactively. Rep. Ann Johnson (D-Houston) called it a targeted attack on trans lives: “Stop pretending that you’re for freedom.”
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