A bill restricting transgender girls from playing high school or college girls’ sports is awaiting Governor Kristi Noem’s signature.
Supporters say it’s meant to keep some from having a competitive edge in athletics. Critics say it’s a matter of life or death.
Proponents say women have fought for decades just to be able to play sports. They say South Dakota girls’ sports is at risk of being overrun by what they call “biological males.”
Sioux Falls Republican Rhonda Milstead is the prime sponsor of the bill.
“It’s about fair,” Milstead says. “It’s not about being negative, hateful, any of that. It’s just respecting where women have come.”
The bill excludes transgender girls from playing girls sports. It also requires every high school athlete submit a written waiver declaring their “reproductive biology.”
The current policy for transgender athletes requires doctors’ notes and a third-party review of an application to see if that athlete would have a competitive advantage over their peers.
Anne Dilenschneider is a certified gender specialist, who has worked for decades with transgender people in South Dakota. She says transgender youth have a 60 percent suicide attempt rate and this law would only exacerbate that.
“Sports save lives,” Dilenschneider says. “Kids who can play on sports teams have a group that they can bond with a be part of. It's so important for teenage development. Yet, we’re denying these girls—and they are girls—a chance to participate in that and we start to isolate them.”
Dilenschneider says the current state athletics policy works well.
Republican Governor Kristi Noem has said she’s excited to sign the bill. Now, she’s saying the bill will get a thorough review.
Some are worried about economic ramifications if the bill is signed into law.