Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday signed a bill to prevent male-born athletes from competing in female scholastic sports, making her state the 11th to pass such legislation over the objections of the LGBTQ movement.
Calling it a “victory for girls’ sports in Iowa,” the Republican governor signed House File 2416 at a ceremony surrounded by young female athletes, a day after the state Senate passed the measure in a party-line 31-17 vote.
“No amount of talent, training or effort can make up for the natural physical advantages males have over females,” said Ms. Reynolds. “It’s simply a reality of human biology. Forcing females to compete against males is the opposite of inclusivity and it’s absolutely unfair.”
The bill requires both high schools and collegiate sports to be designated as male, female or coed. Only those identified as female on their birth certificates are allowed to compete in girls’ and women’s sports.
“Nothing could be more straightforward and commonsense,” said Ms. Reynolds. “No student will be prevented from playing a sport that matches his or her biological sex or a sport designated as coed.”
Those criticizing the new law included the American Civil Liberties Union, which called it a “dark day for Iowa.”
“Despite overwhelming opposition, and a plethora of medical and mental health experts giving testimony to how this will cause harm, Gov. Reynolds is telling Iowa’s transgender children and youth that they are less-than, and unimportant to her state in blatant disregard for Title IX,” said One Iowa Action board chair Angus Raymond. “We are profoundly disappointed in the legislature and the governor’s office.”
Ten states have passed similar legislation. At least two of those, Idaho and West Virginia, have had their laws blocked by federal judges pending the outcome of anti-discrimination lawsuits.
Even so, women’s sports bills continue to advance in red states, including Indiana, where the state Senate gave final approval Tuesday to a bill barring male-born athletes from K-12 women’s sports.
Also speaking at the Iowa bill-signing ceremony was Carlisle High School student Ainsley Erzen, a track and soccer star who won the girls’ 800m high school national championship last year.
She said the bill ensures that “no girl will be sidelined in her own sport.”
“Because of the courage of all those who worked so hard to make this bill a reality, today we get to send a crucial message to all Iowa girls now and all those to come in the future, a message girls today so rarely get to hear: the message that women are so much more than a hormone level,” Miss Erzen said. “That the things girls love are worth protecting, and their hard work and dedication are recognized.”
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a law Thursday that bans transgender women and girls from participating in school sports from kindergarten through college. https://t.co/0y0Zz0nRlj
— KEYC News Now (@KEYCNewsNow) March 3, 2022
Christiana Holcomb, Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel, commended the governor and legislators for “protecting the ability of Iowa’s women and girls to compete on a level playing field by enacting this important legislation.”
The conservative legal group has challenged the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s transgender-athlete policy on behalf of four female athletes.
“When the law ignores biological reality, female athletes lose medals, podium spots, public recognition, and opportunities to compete,” said Ms. Holcomb. “Comparably fit and trained males will always have physical advantages over females — that’s the reason we have girls’ sports.”
The bill took effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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