It is not clear now what will happen to the proposal, which was previously approved with a 50-23 vote in the House.
(Archive photo by Rick Egan | Tribune) Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, leads the Senate during the speaking period on Thursday, February 18, 2021.
“Although I agree with inclusion in sports and wholeheartedly support the substitute that brings more people, I believe that inclusion cannot come at the expense of justice,” she said, arguing that transgender athletes have an unfair physiological advantage.
But after sometimes hearing the emotional testimony of most members of the public who opposed the bill, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee decided not to take it further.
A committee legislator, Senator Jake Anderegg, told Birkeland repeatedly that he “hated” the proposal, which he said put him in a difficult position to choose between his belief that men and women have biological differences and his desire to be inclusive members of the LGBTQ community.
“I have difficulties with this bill because I know people who are trans – family members, friends of mine who I desperately love,” he said. “And yet I have this biological understanding of human development that plays this in stark contrast and I don’t know how to reconcile the two.”
According to the substitute proposed by Birekland, which was not approved on Wednesday, schools would still be required to categorize all athletic activities as “male”, “female” or “mixed”. And “male” students would be prohibited from competing in sporting events designated as female according to the proposal, which defines sex as the “biological, physical condition of being male or female, determined by the individual’s genetics and anatomy at birth. “
Reviews published online before the committee’s hearing excluded language that would allow students to sue their schools if they felt harmed by a violation of restrictions on transgender youth in sports.
Added to the bill was a provision that prevented any government entity or licensing or accreditation organization from receiving a complaint, opening an investigation or taking any other “adverse action” against a school for maintaining separate school sports activities for “female” students. “.
Katrina Moreno, a graduate student and athlete at the University of Utah, told lawmakers that she benefited from participating in sports and wanted young transsexuals to have the same opportunities.
“The challenges that transsexual women face outside of sports are undeniable and important. Sports should certainly not be added to that list of things, ”she said. “I would be more than happy to run alongside or compete with trans women.”
The father of a transgender daughter also joined members of Equality Utah, Transgender Education Advocates of Utah and other LGBTQ + groups to oppose the bill, hoping that her daughter would not be excluded from athletics.
“My daughter expressed an interest in playing sports and I dreamed of her one day playing on a school team, ”he said. “I want her to have the opportunity to experience all the benefits that come with the idea that it will take advantage of that opportunity.”
While most of those who spoke out were against the bill, several people urged the committee to adopt it during public comments on Wednesday.
One woman, who identified herself as a member of the conservative Utah Eagle Forum, argued that the measure would help protect “the advances and opportunities of long and difficult struggle for women in sports.”
“Even if a man feels he is a woman, he is still a man with all the biological advantages of strength and speed that come with it, ”she said. “And it is unfair to allow biological males to compete with women.”
Nicholeen Peck, of the World Organization for Women, raised a similar question during her testimony, arguing that transgender athletes have a biological advantage that she realized during her years of playing sports.
But Nicole Mihalopoulos, a teenage doctor in the pediatrics department at the University of Utah, said the physiological advantages raised in support of the measure do not really exist.
“Once children start puberty, there are potential differences in lung strength and capacity, but they vary between young people, ”she noted. “Trans girls who receive gender-affirming medical care that block testosterone have testosterone levels in the same range as their cisgender counterparts.”
The new proposal presented by Birkeland on Wednesday would require the Provisional Education Committee of the Legislature “to study the findings of relevant athletic organizations about the competitive advantage of men in sports”. And in response to concerns about the bill, she said on Wednesday that she would be willing to move forward with legislation that “just included a study at this point” to help the state decide how to proceed with future policy.
“I could respect that,” she said. “I do. I just think we need to look at this and have this conversation right now.”
Ultimately, lawmakers chose not to move in that direction. And while Birkeland’s bill could be considered at a future committee hearing, it is unclear what will happen to the proposal at this point in the legislative session, which ends on March 5.
Birkeland said in a statement on Wednesday night that she was “disappointed” with the bill, which was previously approved by 50-23 in the House, has not moved forward, but said the state will continue to work on it.
“This is a complex and sensitive issue and I am grateful for the solid discussions I had with a broad group of stakeholders, colleagues and constituents, and I am grateful to all those who expressed their views,” she said. “I will continue to stand up and speak for female athletes from the past, present and future, who are fighting for the opportunity to compete fairly. I am optimistic that we can continue to work together to create policies that preserve women’s sport. “
Troy Williams, executive director of Equality Utah, took a similar tone in his comments to the committee, expressing a desire to address these issues in a way that is fair to all Utahns.
“Rep. Birkeland, you are a fierce champion in women’s sports and I hope to be an equal champion for LGBTQ children, ”he said. “And I know that if we work together, we can solve these problems. But the HB302 cannot balance inclusion and fair play. So I am asking everyone to really think and be aware that the entire country is watching us now. We will show everyone that when it comes to the children of Utah, we are on the same team. “