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NH House, Senate consider banning transgender females from female sports

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This year the New Hampshire House and Senate are both voting on bills that would prohibit transgender females from joining female school sports teams at any academic level. 

HB 1251 and SB 480 are virtually identical.  The bills would require someone whose female sexuality was challenged to provide a signed physician’s statement that the student is female based on: 

  1. The student's internal and external reproductive anatomy; 
  2. The student's naturally occurring level of testosterone; and 
  3. An analysis of the student's chromosomes. 

The House recently voted down HB 1251.  The Senate has yet to vote on SB 480. 

No consensus on transgender females in sports 

There is no question that adult biological males have physical advantages over adult biological females, from bone density to muscle development.  Synthetic forms of testosterone, the male sex hormone, are abused to enhance athletic performance.   

What about if someone was born biologically male but transitions to become female?  That transition may involve hormone therapy and physical surgery.  Depending on when treatment starts (for example, before or after puberty), some of those male physical advantages may not develop in a transgender female.  On the other hand, if someone born male doesn’t start transitioning until college, there will most likely be notable physical differences between that student and students born biologically female. 

There is no consensus among lawmakers, doctors, and sports officials on if or when those differences become unfair. 

Some state athletic associations, such as the Alabama High School Athletic Association, determine a student’s eligibility for a team based on the student’s sex at birth.  On the other end of the spectrum, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference and some other states allow students to participate based on their personal gender identification.  

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is somewhere in the middle.  They only allow male to female transgender students to participate on female sports teams after completing one year of testosterone suppression treatment. 

The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association recommends that schools allow students to participate based on their personal gender identity.  The student’s school is responsible for determining that “the expression of the student’s gender identity is bona fide and not for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage in competitive athletics.” 

Arguments for excluding transgender female athletes from female teams 

In New Hampshire, supporters of HB 1251 and SB 480 argue that transgender females have unfair physical advantages over cisgender (born biologically female) women.   

They point to Connecticut, where two transgender female sprinters have won several state championships.  Some cisgender females are now suing Connecticut over the policy that allowed the transgender women to compete, arguing it is a violation of Title IX.  That federal law requires schools to provide an equal opportunity for men and women in sports. 

New Hampshire Rep. Rick Ladd wrote in support of HB 1251: 

“Reports are growing about the number of female athletes who have been bumped from fixed-number teams, who have unjustly had their records broken, and who have lost their scholarships because of males identifying as female. The bill won’t deny any student the opportunity to play sports. It will provide an objective way to keep girls’ teams for girls.” 

Arguments for including transgender female athletes on female teams 

Opponents of HB 1251 and SB 480 argue that these bills will unjustly deprive transgender students of the right to participate in school activities.  There are many factors that go into an athlete’s success, from coaching to nutrition to natural physical abilities.  It’s extremely rare to find a transgender student that is also an athletic prodigy capable of sweeping state championships.  Bill opponents argue that blocking transgender females from school sports will do more to socially isolate and stigmatize transgender students than it will to protect female athletes. 

Opponents of HB 1251 and SB 480 also argue the bills would intrude on all students’ privacy and subject them to invasive medical tests.  Tests based solely on testosterone levels, reproductive anatomy, and chromosomes could also expose and/or exclude students with hormone or chromosome disorders who are not transgender.  Lastly, since the bills allow anyone to challenge a student’s sex, they could be used to harass athletes, forcing them to undergo tests to prove they are biologically female. 

A representative of the New Hampshire Department of Justice testified at a public hearing that the bills would open the state to lawsuits, particularly under the state law that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity. 

What’s next for transgender athletes in New Hampshire? 

Neither HB 1251 or SB 480 are likely to become law this year, but the debate over transgender athletes and sports will continue.  Several states are considering similar bills.  Meanwhile the Connecticut lawsuit is making its way through the courts.  This issue will most likely return in later legislative sessions. 

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