WI governor wants to remove gendered words ‘mother’ or ‘father’ from law

• Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers introduced a proposal to change gender-specific terms, like “mother,” in Wisconsin law. He included the recommendation in his budget for 2025-2027.
• The Republican Governors Association criticized the proposal, calling it a left-wing agenda, and emphasizing the importance of preserving the term “mother” as a unique and honored identity.
• Similar legislation has been passed in Massachusetts, with a law protecting LGBTQ+ families and promoting gender-neutral language in legal contexts.

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As Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, D, finalizes the state budget for the next two years, he’s introducing a proposal that doesn’t deal with finances. Instead, it focuses on changing everyday language by eliminating gender-specific terms for men and women.

Proposal targets language in state law

On Friday, Feb. 21, Evers recommended a change to Wisconsin law that would redefine common terms. Under his proposal, “mother” would be replaced with “inseminated person” in certain cases. Similarly, “wife” or “husband” would become “spouse,” and “father” would be changed to “parent.”

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Republican pushback

The Republican Governors Association labeled the proposal as a left-wing agenda. Executive Director Sara Craig argues that being a mother is one of the greatest privileges and reducing motherhood to an inclusive term is offensive.

Senate Bill 45

Known as Senate Bill 45, the proposed legislation primarily deals with state finances and appropriations for 2025 through 2027.

However, in Section 3106, it also includes language changes. On page 1,764, the bill removes terms like “husband,” “wife,” “maternal” and “paternal.” It also continues on several other pages to propose replacing “paternity” with “parentage,” traditionally a term used to describe a father’s role.

The debate over gendered language has already gained traction across the country. Some advocates want to replace “breastfeeding” with “chestfeeding,” while opponents argue for maintaining the traditional terms.

Similar legislation in other states

On Jan. 1, a Massachusetts law went into effect that protects LGBTQ+ families and those formed through reproductive assistance. This law guarantees legal equality for all families, regardless of marital status, gender identity or sexual orientation. It also mandates the exclusion of “mother” and “father” from certain legal contexts.

Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont have similar laws in place.

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On the first day of his presidency, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that he said would protect women and block gender ideology from replacing the biological categories of “woman” and “man.”