Geeta Rao Gupta is the Biden Administrations nominee for the State Departments Ambassador at Large for Global Womens Issues.
However, Gupta has made several controversial remarks about LGBT and abortion issues.
The Daily Caller reports that the Senate is expected to hold a roll call vote on Gupta on Thursday at approximately 1:45 PM ET and a confirmation vote next week.
The State Department first created the position of Ambassador at Large for Global Womens Issues in 2012 during the Obama Administration. This was designed to ensure that womens issues are fully integrated in the formulation and conduct of U.S. foreign policy.
In her Twitter bio, Gupta describes herself as an Advocate for equity and social justice and a gender expert. She also authored an article in 2019 for the Lancet advocating for a global health community.
The Daily Caller reports that Gupta encouraged more creative research on masculinity in a paper presented at the AIDS conference in 2000 to help identify the best approaches to promote gender-equitable male attitudes and behaviors.
Gupta also refers to gender as a culture-specific construct and says, Gender is not a synonym for sex. She has also been credited with coining the term gender-transformative.
Abortion advocates praised Guptas nomination, seeing her as a strong voice for their issues. Planned Parenthoods President Alexis McGill Johnson said she was excited to hear that Gupta had been nominated for this position. Gupta has provided praise for Planned Parenthood in the past. She gave lavish praise for a Planned Parenthood initiative in South Africa. Gupta referred to that initiative as excellent.
This nomination is highly controversial in some circles. The abortion issue has been spotlighted since the Supreme Courts Dobbs decision which granted states the right to regulate or outlaw abortion. Additionally, LGBT issues have been at the forefront as several states have passed laws that curtail what transgender people can and cannot do in the state.
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