Lawsuit in Connecticut Underscores Why Arkansas Passed Law Protecting Fairness in Women’s Sports
Earlier this month the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that biological males can compete against females in women’s sports in Connecticut.
The ruling came about as the result of a lawsuit brought by four female student athletes against the Connecticut Association of Schools after the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference adopted a policy that lets males who claim to be female compete in girls’ athletics.
Attorneys representing the four female athletes say they may appeal the court’s decision.
Situations like this one are part of the reason Arkansas and other states have enacted legislation protecting fairness in women’s sports.
Act 461 of 2021 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) protects fairness in women’s sports at school by preventing male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics.
Over the past few years we have seen biological males dominate women’s athletics in some parts of the country.
For example, in 2019 Rachel McKinnon — a biological male who claims to be female — won the female Cycling World Championship.
More recently, biologically male athlete Lia Thomas shattered women’s swimming records and was even nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year.
Letting males compete in girls’ sports reverses 50 years of advancements for women and effectively erases girls’ athletics.
It hampers girls’ abilities to compete for athletic scholarships, and it hurts their professional opportunities as adults.
It isn’t just unfair. In some sports, it can even be dangerous.
Arkansas’ Act 461 is a good law that protects women and upholds fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
Trial Continues Over Arkansas’ SAFE Act
The federal lawsuit over Arkansas’ Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act is continuing this week.
The SAFE Act is an excellent law that protects children from sex-reassignment procedures, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones.
The Arkansas Legislature passed the SAFE Act in 2021, but last year U.S. District Judge James Moody issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the state from enforcing the SAFE Act while a lawsuit over its constitutionality plays out in court.
The Arkansas Attorney General’s office appealed that decision to the Eighth Circuit. In August a three-judge panel from the Eighth Circuit ruled that the law should remain blocked while the lawsuit progresses in Judge Moody’s court.
Researchers do not know the long term effects that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones have on kids.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never approved puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for the purpose of gender transition.
Doctors are giving these hormones to kids off-label, in a manner the FDA never intended.
In July the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added a warning label to puberty blockers after biological girls developed symptoms of tumor-like masses in the brain.
The U.K.’s National Health Services recently closed its Tavistock gender clinic that gave puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children for many years.
The facility today faces the possibility of lawsuits from upwards of 1,000 families whose children were subjected to sex-reassignment despite an obvious lack of scientific evidence in favor of the procedures and inadequate mental health screenings for children with gender dysphoria.
A gender-identity clinic in Scotland faces similar legal troubles from former patients who say they were rushed into sex-change procedures.
Despite mounting evidence that sex-change hormones and procedures are not appropriate for children, the ACLU and others have asked the federal courts to strike down Arkansas’ SAFE Act.
Several business interests and the Biden-Harris Administration also have joined the fight against Arkansas’ SAFE Act.
Testimony in the trial over the SAFE Act has underscored several key points about gender dysphoria, including:
- The science surrounding gender identity remain in flux.
- The demographics of transgender youth is changing in ways that scientists do not yet understand.
- Randomized clinical trials do not support the adolescent gender transition processes that many doctors in America use.
Arkansas’ SAFE Act is a good law that protects children. We believe our courts will recognize that fact and uphold this good law as constitutional.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.