Supreme Court upholds bans on biological men in women’s sports
The Supreme Court has upheld two state laws that prevent biological men from participating in women’s sports, ruling that these laws do not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and are consistent with Title IX.The 6-3 decision, authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, affirms that schools may separate sports by biological sex to ensure fair competition for women and girls. These rulings come amid ongoing legal debates over transgender athletes’ participation and protections for women’s sports, with the Court emphasizing the importance of biological differences and fairness. The cases involved Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act, reflecting broad concerns about competitive advantage and the role of hormones. This decision is part of a series of notable rulings by the court this term on related issues concerning transgender rights and protections.
The Supreme Court upheld a pair of state laws Tuesday barring biological men from participating in women’s sports, in a key ruling set to have wide ramifications for transgender issues across the country.
The high court issued a 6-3 ruling in both cases over state laws barring biological men from women’s sports, finding the state laws did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and were therefore constitutional. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion finding that under Title IX schools may separate sports by biological sex.
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“The question before the Court is: Under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, may schools maintain women’s and girls’ sports for biological females? In other words, may schools determine eligibility for women’s and girls’ sports based on biological sex? The answer is yes,” Kavanaugh wrote.
The Supreme Court heard two cases this term over a pair of similar laws barring biological men from women’s sports. In Little v. Hecox, Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act was at the center of the dispute, which was over whether the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. In West Virginia v. B.P.J., West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act was at the center of the case, and the justices had to decide whether the state law violates either the Equal Protection Clause or Title IX.
The high court held arguments in both cases back-to-back in January, with a majority of the bench appearing deeply skeptical of efforts by transgender athletes and activists to strike down the laws, which the states argued protect women’s sports by ensuring women and girls can compete fairly. Among the questions asked, the justices grilled lawyers about the competitive advantage that biological men have over biological women, and whether cross-sex hormones could ever suppress that advantage.
THE MAJOR SUPREME COURT DECISIONS REMAINING FOR THIS TERM
The pair of cases was among the most closely watched issues of this Supreme Court term, coming one year after the high court upheld state laws barring transgender drugs and surgeries for children in United States v. Skrmetti.
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