The Idaho State Senate passed a bill on March 16th which would ban transgender girls and women from playing on high school and college sports teams. The “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” would force students to compete on teams that correlate with their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity. If there is a “dispute” over which team a student belongs to, the school can “provide a health examination and consent form or other statement signed by the student’s personal health care provider.” According to the bill, one’s sex could be verified through a health care provider examining the student’s physical anatomy, levels of testosterone the body produces, or genetic makeup.
Opponents of the bill argue that it subjects students in invasive exams, as well as subjecting trans students to further ostracization. Mistie Tolman, Idaho State Director at Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, states that “Transgender people, and transgender youth in particular, just want to be able to live their lives free from harassment and with community…Today, instead of acknowledging their humanity, the Senate chose to give the trans community yet another cold shoulder.”
This bill is not the first that has targeted trans individuals in Idaho. There is a bill advancing in the Idaho State Legislature that prevents trans people from changing the sex on their birth certificates.
This bill will reach the Idaho House before it reaches Governor Little.
Sources: Local News Eight 3/16/20; Idaho House of Representatives 2/13/20; Idaho Press 3/16/20; The Hill 2/28/20
