Two professors from the University of Texas at Austin are making waves with their refusal to accept new Title IX changes mandated by the Biden Administration. Daniel Bonevac and John Hatfield argue that the new rules, which protect against gender identity discrimination and offer reprieve for students who terminate pregnancies, go against their principles and Texas law. The pair are part of a lawsuit spearheaded by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, aiming to challenge the statutory changes set to be enacted on August 1, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Under the revised regulations, institutions are required to accommodate absences for students needing abortion care. However, Bonevac and Hatfield have both asserted that they will not “accommodate or become complicit in these crimes by excusing a student’s absence from class if that student skips class to obtain an illegal abortion in Texas, or to perform a self-managed abortion with illegally obtained abortion drugs," as stated in declarations for the lawsuit and reported by KUT 90.5. The same lawsuit sees them railing against the federal requirements to respect students' chosen pronouns, particularly the singular "they," calling it a grammatical error and “delusional.”
In Texas, where a ban on elective abortions stands firm, the professors' stance echoes a larger conservative backing. Governor Greg Abbott has directed public universities in the state to outright ignore the Title IX changes, something UT Austin spokesperson Mike Rosen affirmed the university intends to do, in light of various legal obstacles the regulations face. The lawsuit, located in a district court with a Trump-appointed judge with a history of contesting abortion medication, highlights the continued clash between Texas leadership and federal authorities over educational and reproductive rights.
Reactions to the professors' actions have been vocal. Emily Witt of the Texas Freedom Network chided the notion of professors knowing specific health-related reasons behind a student's absence, calling it "kind of a made-up scenario," while Blair Wallace of the ACLU of Texas maintained that "punishing students for seeking an abortion just really undermines the principles of educational equity and civil rights." Both statements were obtained during interviews with KUT 90.5. Interestingly, while UT’s nondiscrimination policy seems to stand in contrast to the actions of Bonevac and Hatfield, the current tussle places the university at a crossroads between statewide directives and federal expectations, a position fraught with legal and moral complexities.
