Who would have imagined even ten years ago that Arizona would need a law that defines male and female and helps keep boys out of girls’ locker rooms? But here we are. So, Arizona Senator Sine Kerr sponsored SB 1628, the Arizona Women’s Bill of Rights to bring clarity, certainty, and uniformity to sex-specific state laws.
The bill defines a person’s sex based on his or her biological sex – either male or female – for purposes of Arizona law. It also defines sex-based terms such as “woman,” “girl,” “boy,” “mother”, and “father.” But it does not change current laws or create new restrictions on any Arizonan’s legal rights. Read more about the bill in our fact sheet.
Laws should reflect reality. Otherwise, how does the state enforce them? And women deserve to be safe in places where they are most vulnerable. Paula Scanlan, now an ambassador for Independent Women’s Voice (IWV), knows this all too well.
aula had to share a locker room and competed with Lia Thomas on the University of Pennsylvania’s swim team. Lia, formerly Will Thomas, swam on the men’s team prior to identifying as a woman in 2021. As Will, he maintained an average swim record. As Lia, he racked up personal best times in every freestyle event and took titles and trophies from women in meet after meet.
In addition to replacing women on the winner’s podium, Lia’s presence on the team did further damage. Paula told her story at a press conference at the Capitol earlier this week, “My teammates and I were forced to dress in the presence of Lia, a six feet, four-inch-tall biological man, fully in tact … We tried to voice our concerns with the athletic department, and we were told Lia swimming was a non-negotiable and we were offered psychological services to try to reeducate us to become comfortable with the idea of undressing in front of an adult male.”
Paula shared that this was alarming to many of her teammates, but for her it was frightening. Paula was a survivor of sexual assault and sensitive to the vulnerable position she and her teammates were in every time they had to undress in the presence of a man. But instead of protecting her and the other women, the school offered them re-education in an effort to stifle their natural instincts for privacy and dignity.
Paula made the point that, by defining the term sex as male or female, SB 1628 would help safeguard female opportunities and private spaces from manipulation by ideologues, “The Women’s Bill of Rights gives meaning to common words so they cannot be twisted and manipulated by judges or bureaucrats. This bill doesn’t take away anyone’s rights or create any special rights for women, it simply clarifies definitions of words already used in Arizona law.”
Senator Kerr’s bill is scheduled to be heard in Senate Health and Human Services Committee next Tuesday afternoon. Another CAP-supported bill scheduled to be heard that day is SB 1511, which requires health care providers and insurance companies that provide gender-altering drugs and surgeries to also provide care and coverage for those who detransition. SB 1451 which requires parental consent for children to receive gender-altering drugs could also be heard next week.
HB 2183 which would give parents access to their children’s online medical records passed the House this week and will head to the Senate.
Track the progress of all CAP – supported bills on our bill tracker page here.
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ICYMI
- Read here how the AZ Mirror covered the story, using the made-up word “Cis” to describe women, claiming “legislative terrorism,” and framing the story as “eliminating all legal recognition of transgender people,” instead of the bill’s goal to protect girls and women like Paula.
- Read here how Governor Hobbs’ plan to take educational options away from Arizona families, hurting all Arizonans, is making national news.
- Read here how those who were warned of the slippery slope that would come with same-sex marriage, were right. The big media push for Polyamory has begun.