Oklahoma, Arizona ban transgender students from girls’ sports By Reuters

By Maria Caspani

(Reuters) -The Republican governors of Oklahoma and Arizona on Wednesday signed payments banning transgender athletes from women’ college sports activities, becoming a member of a rising record of states which have handed or enacted comparable legal guidelines on a contentious election-year challenge.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey additionally signed a invoice banning irreversible gender reassignment surgical procedure for minors.

“This laws is common sense and narrowly-targeted to deal with these two particular points ⁠- whereas making certain that transgender people proceed to obtain the identical dignity, respect and kindness as each particular person in our society,” Ducey mentioned in a press release.

The American Civil Liberties Union signaled it will problem the ban on gender reassignment surgical procedure in court docket, saying on Twitter (NYSE:) that “the federal government cannot violate our rights with no combat.”

Transgender rights have been pushed to the forefront of the tradition wars taking part in out throughout the USA in recent times, along with points reminiscent of reproductive rights. Ducey on Wednesday additionally signed a invoice banning abortions after 15 weeks of being pregnant.

Supporters of the sports activities bans argue they’re wanted to make sure transgender athletes would not have an unfair benefit, whereas opponents name the measures discriminatory.

Oklahoma’s Save Girls’s Sports activities Act http://webserver1.lsb.state.okay.us/cf_pdf/2021-22percent20ENR/SB/SB2percent20ENR.PDF applies to public faculties within the state by way of school.

“We’re defending girls’s sports activities, we’re making certain a degree taking part in subject for feminine athletes,” Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt mentioned at a signing ceremony, surrounded by younger feminine athletes.

Oklahoma and Arizona at the moment are amongst 14 states which have enacted laws prohibiting transgender women from collaborating and competing in women’ sports activities at school.

The same invoice handed in Kentucky final week and awaits motion from Democratic Governor Andy Beshear.

Opponents of the bans have characterised the legal guidelines as backed by conservative particular pursuits to drum up assist forward of November’s midterm congressional elections, when Republicans search to win again a majority within the Senate and the Home of Representatives.

The U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention estimated https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6803a3.htm in 2019 that 1.8% of highschool college students within the nation are transgender. The advocacy group Human Rights Marketing campaign has mentioned that in response to surveys https://assets2.hrc.org/recordsdata/belongings/sources/PlayToWin-FINAL.pdf, solely about 12% of them play on women’ sports activities groups.

The Human Rights Marketing campaign mentioned it’s monitoring greater than 300 payments concentrating on the LGBTQ+ neighborhood which are at present transferring by way of state legislatures, many particularly aimed toward transgender youth.

Gender reassignment surgical procedure for individuals underneath 18 is extraordinarily uncommon and would happen solely after years of therapy in circumstances the place the affected person’s needs are unwavering, in response to consultants in transgender drugs.