US SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS STATE BANS ON TRANSGENDER WOMEN IN SCHOOL SPORTS

The US Supreme Court has ruled that states may ban transgender women from competing in female school and college sports teams. The court considered cases from students in Idaho and West Virginia who challenged laws requiring public school and college sports teams to compete in accordance with sex recorded at birth. All nine justices found that the state bans do not violate Title IX, a civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in schools. Six conservative justices ruled the bans do not violate the 14th Amendment's equal protection guarantee, while three liberal justices disagreed on the constitutional question.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, stated: "The Constitution and Title IX do not require an overhaul of women's and girls' sports throughout America." Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a partial dissent, asserting that the majority opinion had applied "a diminished view of equal protection" to sports. More than two dozen states have enacted similar bans since Idaho passed its law in 2020. The Idaho challenge was brought by distance runner Lindsay Hecox shortly after the law's enactment; she had previously been granted injunctions by both a district court and an appeals court.

State lawmaker Barbara Ehardt, who introduced Idaho's law, stated at the time that it would ensure "boys and men will not be able to take the place of girls and women in sports because it's not fair." The appeals panel had found the Idaho law violated constitutional rights, determining the state had failed to provide evidence that the ban protects sex equality and opportunity for women athletes. President Donald Trump made transgender athletes in women's sports a regular focus of his 2024 election campaign.