The US House of Representatives has approved a bill banning transgender people from participating in women’s high school sports teams, US media reported.
218 congressmen voted in favour of passing the document, while 206 voted against it. Only two Democrats joined Republicans in voting. The bill also prohibits federal funding for schools whose women’s sports teams include transgender students.
Republicans presented the bill as a way to level the playing field for female athletes. Democrats, meanwhile, said it would lead to an invasion of privacy for young girls. They also pointed to the bill as the latest example of Republicans’ unhealthy fixation on trying to restrict transgender rights, when that time could have been spent passing laws aimed at creating jobs or lowering food prices.
The document still needs to be approved by the Senate. Meanwhile, in the upper house of Congress, Republicans will need seven more Democratic votes for the bill to pass.
In 2022, American transgender swimmer Leah Thomas won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I championship. This sparked resentment from her opponents. In response, Thomas stated that transgender people were not a threat to women’s sports.
