A bill was passed by the Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday that would define biological sex in binary terms based on individuals’ reproductive systems rather than their gender identity.
The legislation is sponsored by State Representative Susan DuBose (R-Hoover). ‘The What is a Woman Act’ defines man, woman, boy, girl, father, mother, male, and female sex for the purpose of state law. According to the bill, sex is determined by genetics at birth.
House Bill (HB) 111 would amend the Alabama Code to define sex-based terms, provide policy relating to sex and gender identity, allow public entities to establish some single-sex spaces, and require public entities collecting vital statistics related to sex to identify individuals as male or female as observed at birth.
“[The bill] codifies the time-honored definitions of male, female, man, women, boy, girl, mother, father and sex,” DuBose said. “This is a definitions bill for our courts to have guidance when interpreting laws that already exist in Alabama.”
“Unfortunately, what a woman is is changing, and we want to protect women’s rights,” DuBose said.
She also said her bill only defines sex and does not discriminate based on gender. However, state Rep. Marilyn Lands (D-Huntsville) said the legislation would have unintended consequences.
The bill also states that while men and women are legally equal, they are also physically different and that “inconsistencies in court rulings and policy initiatives regarding sex discrimination and common sex-based words have endangered women’s rights and resources and have put the existence of private, single-sex spaces in jeopardy.” HB 111 explains that the state holds an “important interest in preventing unjust sex discrimination” and that the bill will advance this interest by providing clarity, certainty, and uniformity for issues regarding sex.
HB 111 is one of five “anti-trans bills” in Alabama currently sitting in the Alabama legislature, according to the Trans Legislation Tracker, and various states across the nation have also introduced legislation targeting transgender and nonbinary communities. Alabama is one of 23 states, including Louisiana and Texas, that have enacted laws criminalizing gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Some states, such as Florida, have attempted to prohibit the use of personal pronouns in specific public school contexts, and Ohio has also prohibited transgender participation in sports. The increase in laws targeting transgender and nonbinary individuals, as well as other members of the LGBTQ+ community, led the Human Rights Campaign to declare a State of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the US in 2023.