The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that states have the right to bar transgender women from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams in public schools and colleges, leaving in place laws passed in Idaho and West Virginia.
According to the ruling, these state-imposed restrictions do not conflict with Title IX, the federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions. As for the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, the six conservative justices concluded that the bans do not violate the right to equal protection, while the three liberal justices disagreed with that position.
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In the majority opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh emphasized that neither the Constitution nor Title IX requires changes to the rules governing women’s and girls’ sports in the United States. In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the majority had adopted an overly narrow reading of the principle of equal protection.
The ruling came after lawsuits were filed by transgender students against the laws in Idaho and West Virginia, which require athletes to compete based on the sex recorded at birth. In one of the cases, it was argued that the ban violated the US Constitution, while in the other it was claimed that it conflicted with federal civil rights law.
One of the lawsuits was brought by Lindsay Hecox, a transgender long-distance runner, who challenged Idaho’s law immediately after it took effect. Lower courts had previously blocked enforcement of the law, and an appeals court panel had found that the state had not provided sufficient evidence that the ban protected fairness and opportunities for female athletes.
Barbara Ehardt, the Idaho lawmaker who proposed the law in 2020, had said the measure was intended to ensure fairness for girls and women in sports. Since then, more than two dozen US states have passed similar laws.
The decision was welcomed by Republican officials. West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey described it as a victory for fairness and the safety of female athletes. President Donald Trump also reacted positively, calling it a “major victory” and noting that the participation of transgender athletes had been part of his political platform.
