Amidst the coronavirus fog, Arizona House bans transgender female athletes from school sports
Arizona is one among the states bang in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic that has crippled the United States. The level of community spread in the state is quite high with over 3,018 cases of COVID-19 and 89 deaths being reported there as of April 9.
However, amid all this comes the surprising news that the Arizona House of Representatives has passed a new bill that if signed would ban transgender female athletes from taking part in school sports.
Republican representative Nancy Barto introduced the 'Save Women's Sports Act' that would mean interscholastic and intramural sports sponsored by educational institutions would have to explicitly designate sports for males or females based on a person's biological sex.
While speaking to ABC News, Barto shared in a statement, "This bill is about fairness. That’s it. What is fair on the field, the court, the track, and in the pool." House Bill 2706 states that if disputed, "a student may establish the student's sex by presenting a signed physician's statement that indicates the student's sex" and also an analysis of the student's DNA.
The bill had initially been introduced on February 3 and was passed in the House around a month later. Barto believes that the biological differences between males and females ranging from lung capacity and muscle mass to testosterone levels give men "an undeniable physical advantage over women in sports."
"That is why we have separated male and female sports. And that is why women have been so successful in achieving greatness on the field, and all the benefits that go with it. What has changed is Interscholastic policies allowing biological males identifying as females to compete on women's teams," she revealed.
The bill would apply to K-12, community college, and universities' female teams. Barto and a few others who voted for the bill believe that this will help level out the playing field. Opponents have argued how the bill fails to protect LGBTQ children and transgender youth.
Democratic Rep. Daniel Hernandez Jr. called the bill "bad for Arizona" on Twitter. During the hearing, Democratic Representative Kirsten Engel shared, "The impact will not be to protect women's sports, instead it's gonna make women's sports a total battleground of lawsuits."
"It's gonna bring people out of the corners of the field to cast accusations - the liability here is so broad that I have very severe concerns that some schools will find some excuse to -- simply not have games," she added.
There has been some protective language in the bill against "retaliation or other adverse action" for students or educational institutions and if violated, would lead to legal action.
The bill further states, "Any student who is deprived of an athletic opportunity or suffers a direct or indirect harm as a result of a violation of this section has a private cause of action for injunctive relief, damages and any other relief available under law against the educational institution."
There has been strong opposition from House Democrats and local and national businesses like Arizona Diamondbacks, PayPal, and Uber. At present, the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) which is the state's governing body for sports has some policies in place for transgender athletes to compete "in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity." They argue, the measure is invasive and humiliating, not only for transgender female athletes but to cisgender female athletes who can be targeted by people acting in bad faith.
As per the AIA policies, all students who are eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics should have the opportunity "irrespective of the sex listed on a student’s eligibility for participation in interscholastic athletics or in a gender that does not match the sex at birth."
"The eligibility is granted for the duration of the student’s participation and does not need to be renewed every sports season or school year. All discussion and documentation will be kept confidential, and the proceedings will be sealed unless the student and family make a specific request," the policy adds.