US House approves transgender athlete ban for girls and women's teams

House Republicans on Thursday (April 20) passed a bill that would bar federally supported schools and colleges from allowing transgender athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth was male to compete on girls' or women's sports teams. According to a report by the news agency Associated Press on Friday, the bill, which was approved by a 219-203 party-line vote is unlikely to advance further because the Democratic-led Senate will not support it and the White House said US President Joe Biden would veto it.

The House's decision comes as at least 20 other American states including North Carolina imposed similar restrictions on transgender athletes at the K-12 or collegiate level.

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On Thursday, the supporters (of the bill) said that the legislation was necessary to ensure competitive fairness. They framed the vote as supporting female athletes disadvantaged by having to compete against those whose gender identity did not match their sex assigned at birth.

Opponents, meanwhile, criticised the bill as ostracising an already vulnerable group merely for political gain, the Associated Press report said.

The bill would amend the landmark civil rights legislation, known as Title IX, passed over 50 years back. It would prohibit the recipients of federal money from permitting a person “whose sex is male” to participate in programmesdesignated for girls or women.

Republican Greg Steube of Florida, the bill's sponsor, on Thursday, highlighted the case of Emma Weyant, a resident of his district. Weyant was a member of the 2020 US Olympic Swimming team who finished second in the NCAA women’s 500-yeard freestyle championship held in 2022. She was defeated by Lia Thomas, who earlier competed on the University of Pennsylvania men’s swimming team before joining the women’s team.

Steube said the integrity of women's sports must be protected.

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, welcoming the bill, said that it was a great day for America, a great day for girls and women and for fairness in sports.

Democrats criticise bill

The Democrats criticised Thursday's bill by saying it did nothing to address the severe inequities in the resources dedicated to men’s and women’s sports. On Thursday, Democrat Pramila Jayapal, who has a transgender daughter, said Republicans were cruelly scapegoating transgender children to score political points.

Jayapal added that three-quarters of transgender students reported having experienced harassment or discrimination at school and many have considered suicide.

“These bills tell some of the most vulnerable children in our country that they do not belong. Shame on you," Jaypal said.

Another Democrat Mark Pocan pointed out that most people in the US don’t know anyone who is transgender and that can create fear for politicians to exploit. Pocan mentioned the stance of Utah's Governor Spencer Cox who last year vetoed a bill banning transgender students from playing girls' sports. “I struggle to understand so much of it and the science is conflicting. When in doubt, however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy and compassion.”

Mark Pocan highlighted on Thursday that at the time of the veto in Utah, there were four transgender players out of 85,000 competing in high school sports, with only one competing in girls' sports.

“There’s your raging national problem. What’s the Republicans' response to this nonexistent issue? Hurt kids for being kids," he further said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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