President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the opening hours of his new administration that formally recognizes the existence of only two sexes, male and female  — and communicates that human life begins at the moment of conception. 

The order, entitled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” was made in response to the blurring and outright elimination of biological differences between men and women in recent years in government and culture more broadly. 

The move, which requires the federal government to stop using the word “gender” in favor of “sex,” sparked despair among proponents of gender ideology, who hold that gender is not binary and that self-identification is paramount to biological sex. And it sparked jubilation among traditional conservatives who have long resisted the reinterpretation of immutable scientific and moral truths in this regard. 

But an unexpected pair of words that appear twice in the Executive Order has made big waves in the pro-life community as well.

“‘Female’ means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell. ‘Male’ means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell.”

While the legal and practical implications of the use of the words “at conception” in the order are unclear, their appearance in government documentation has pro-life advocates abuzz. Not only does the phrase imply that sex is biologically determined and immutable, it also indicates that a key element of human life begins at conception, which bolsters the argument that babies in the womb deserve legal protections at every stage of development. 

Furthermore, the order’s use of the word “person” in reference to the newly conceived baby, further reinforces the pro-life position. 

“In its executive order on gender ideology, the Trump administration snuck in some brilliantly stealth pro-life language,” wrote Andrew T. Walker, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. 

Pro-life activist Anna Lulis also celebrated the order’s use of the phrase on X. 

“HUGE WIN,” she wrote. “Trump signed an executive order confirming there are only two genders and that gender is determined at conception because human LIFE begins at conception.”

For Charles Camosy, theology professor at Fordham University, the public statement affirming life is a boon despite the fact that it will likely not have much effect on policy.

“I’m quite happy to have something public here which focuses on the reality of science — both when it comes to sex and when it comes to the beginning of human life,” he told the Register.

“I do think we need to be careful not to overstate what this means, however, especially because we know that the hearts and minds of the  American people are not yet with us on this truth. Happily, the political and cultural moment we are entering may provide a new opportunity to help our perceived opponents on these matters see with new eyes and turn a heart of stone to a heart of flesh.”