Our Position

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We hold that humanity is created by God as male and female. This dual nature of sex displays the creator of humanity’s image. Personalities differ widely, but people do not have the capability to create a personalized sex or “gender identity” in one’s own image. Attempts to do so fail, because humans do not create themselves.

Humans are created male and female; attempts to create a personalized sex or “gender identity” are not possible.

Each person is created with either a male or female sexed identity based on the type of gamete their reproductive system produces or would produce but for a genetic abnormality. A person’s sex exists from the moment of conception, and existence cannot be separated from that sexed identity. Differences of sexual development (DSDs) stem from genetic mutations or endocrine abnormalities, variations within the two sexes based on development.

A society which allows for self-identification subjects women and children to abuse.

Separate accommodations and opportunities based on sex exist to preserve female safety and access to society. When law and policy require that access to these accommodations and opportunities will now be based on “self-identification” of sex, bad actors take advantage of that system. In a just society, females must have separate private spaces such as restrooms, locker rooms, and dorm spaces; athletic opportunities; prison facilities; and shelters.

In recent years, children have been struggling in greater numbers with identity. In the United States, the response of medical and psychology associations to the childhood identity crisis has been social affirmation of an attempted change in identity and subsequent medicalization. The path to medicalization has resulted in physical and mental harms to minors (see the explanation of so-called “gender-affirming care” below.) For minors and adults who later choose to live in accordance with their sex by detransitioning, medical providers do not have guidance on how to provide care. No classification for medical condition and treatment currently exists for detransition, leaving providers no guidance to care for these patients.

The state of Minnesota’s support for false self-identification has practical harms for the community, including taxpayer-funded drugs for sex-rejection procedures for adults and children, forced compliance of women with predatory male behavior, and changes in the statutory framework of parental abuse and neglect.

Minnesota statute gives the following definition to “gender identity”: “’Gender identity’ means a person's inherent sense of being a man, woman, both, or neither. A person's gender identity may or may not correspond to their assigned sex at birth or to their primary or secondary sex characteristics. A person's gender identity is not necessarily visible to others.”

The state of Minnesota’s stance on sexed identity has led to changes in state law.

·   Minnesota currently funds sex-rejecting procedures such as puberty-blocking drugs, cross sex hormones, and sex-rejecting surgery through state-funded medical assistance and state grant awards.

·  Minnesota protects so-called “gender identity” in state law and policy. For example, the Minnesota State High School league allows athletes to play on the sexed team which corresponds with a self-determined “identity,” and the Department of Corrections allows for incarcerated persons to be housed in accordance with a self-determined “identity.” This policy has led to multiple males being incarcerated in Minnesota’s only female prison.

·   Minnesota also amended the statutory framework which allows for parental abuse and neglect in 2023. Previously, parents could lose temporary custody when there was evidence of abuse or neglect of a child; since 2023, Minnesota has stated that a child’s inability to obtain so-called “gender affirming health care” (sex-rejecting procedures) under parental care is grounds for the state taking temporary emergency custody of the child .

Minnesota Family Council supports kids’ and adults’ access to talk counseling rather than a medicalized approach when addressing issues of identity distress, confusion, or gender dysphoria.

In 2023, Minnesota banned talk therapy for children and vulnerable adults (which includes adults with physical disability but no mental disability) struggling with gender dysphoria and desiring to live in accordance with their sex. The only state-sanctioned approach for those struggling with identity is sex-rejecting procedures—puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-rejecting surgeries. See FAQ section for a definition of these procedures.

Current Public Policy Proposals in Discussion Regarding Sex and Medicalization

·      MFC Supports: Protecting female private spaces and accommodations for female incarcerated persons. HF435 (2025)

·      MFC Supports: Protecting female athletics for female athletes. HF12 (2025)

·      MFC Opposes: The so-called “Equal Rights Amendment” which would create state constitutional protection for abortion and so-called “gender identity.” It intentionally does not include protections for religious freedom. HF501 (2025)

FAQ

Q: What is “gender-affirming care”?

A: The standard approach in the United States is to follow what has become called the “Dutch protocol,” a medicalized approach by which Dutch researchers sought to resolve adult regret with childhood medicalization. The recommended process starts with puberty-blocking drugs before cross-sex hormones, followed later by various surgeries such as removing or altering primary or secondary sex characteristics.

Human sexual development is categorized into phases called Tanner stages. Depending upon the timing of puberty blocker administration, and especially when followed by cross-sex hormones, minors are at risk of permanent infertility. If puberty blockers continue to be administered, research shows a linkage to decreased bone mineral density. The benefits of sex hormone development during puberty likely also impact cognitive development. Although measured impacts to cognitive development remain largely unknown, “There is some evidence of detrimental impact of pubertal suppression of IQ on children.”

Cross-sex hormones (CSH) are recommended to be administered to the levels present in the opposite sex. For females receiving testosterone treatment, this can result in reproductive organ atrophy and pelvic pain. For males receiving estrogen treatment, changes in testicular tissue have led to cytotoxicity and immune damage. Studies and reviews have found that females taking CSH face increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, and males taking CSH face increased risk of venous thromboembolism and stroke.

Sex-rejecting surgeries, given the diversity and scope of options related to primary and secondary sex organs, cause varying changes to the body and carry various risks. Mastectomy, perhaps the most common surgery for minors seeking sex-rejecting surgeries, results in loss breastfeeding capability and sensation, along with risk of necrosis.