Extreme ballot measure could force anatomy inspections for girls’ sports teams
The measure seeks to restrict trans girls from participating in girls’ sports. (Image: Envato)
The debate over transgender student-athletes is heading directly to voters this November, with a surprising and extreme ballot measure in Washington state seeking to restrict trans girls from participating in school sports that align with their gender identity.
IL26-638 would apply specifically to girls’ sports teams, creating certain eligibility requirements for K-12 athletes.
As a result, female students would have to prove their sex assigned at birth, and criticism has emerged regarding the enforcement provisions outlined in the bill’s literature.
Under the proposal, female students would need to have their sex assigned at birth verified through genetic screening, testosterone level testing, or a physical examination of reproductive anatomy before being eligible to compete on girls’ teams.
The bill’s text does not set guidelines in terms of who would conduct the exams, who would pay for them, when they need to take place, or how the policy would be enforced.
27 states have implemented measures banning transgender girls from participating in female sports teams since 2020 under the guise of fairness and concern for girls’ and women’s safety.
“Extreme and unworkable concept”
Paperwork for IL26-638 identifies its targeted purpose is to protect “the integrity and fairness of women’s interscholastic sports necessitates that students compete in athletic activities consistent with the gender assigned at birth.”
It continues: “Leveraging the existing physical examination process to verify biological sex ensures equity, safety, and competitive balance in sports intended exclusively for female students, while respecting the rights and opportunities of all participants.”
“Sex testing is, in its nature, an extreme and unworkable concept,” GLAD Law’s senior staff attorney Christ Erchull told The Cut in a 3 August interview.
“The sad and cynical truth is that people are funding these ballot initiatives because they want to drive Republican voter turnout for a midterm election. It is just like in 2006, when Republicans poured money into ballot initiatives to oppose marriage equality,” Erchull continued.
