Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law on Thursday that will Protect Women’s Sports. The bill essentially states that only biological girls are allowed to play girls’ sports. Reynolds called it a “victory” for girls in Iowa and thanked State Sen. Tim Goodwin and State Rep. Skyler Wheeler for guiding the bill through each of the legislative chambers.
“Our state has an impressive legacy of advancing women’s equality,” Reynolds said. “As I was the first female governor, this aspect of our state’s character fills me with gratitude and pride. Great things happen when women have access to the fair and equal playing field they deserve.”
Reynolds said the bill will keep the question of what girls’ sports in Iowa will look like if things are tilted in favor of biological males who have “inherent physical advantages.”
“Only students who are female according to their birth certificate will be eligible to compete in girls’ sports,” Reynolds said. “Nothing could be more straightforward and common sense.”
No students will be prohibited from playing a sport that aligns with their biological sex, Reynolds correctly pointed out.
“As a woman, a mother of three daughters and now a grandmother of three young girls, it worries me that this bill is needed at all,” Reynolds said. “It’s hard to imagine how anyone who cares about the rights of women and girls could support anything less.”