Kansas Legislature Overrides Governor Veto of Women’s Rights Bill That Defines Biological Sex

MARY CHASTAIN APR 28, 2023 7:00 PM

The Kansas legislature overturned Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of Senate Bill 180.The House voted 84-40. The Senate voted 28-12.Senate Bill 180 establishes “the women’s bill of rights to provide a meaning of biological sex for purposes of statutory construction.”The bill defines biological sex as the individual’s sex at birth, either male or female:

• A “female” means an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova;
• A “male” means an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female;
• “Woman” and “girl” refer to human females, and “man” and “boy” refer to human males;
• “Mother” means a parent of the female sex, and “father” means a parent of the male sex; and
• With respect to biological sex, separate accommodations are not inherently unequal.

From the summary of the legislation:

The bill notes that laws and rules and regulations that distinguish between the sexes are subject to intermediate constitutional scrutiny. The bill states intermediate constitutional scrutiny prohibits unfair discrimination against similarly situated male and female individuals but allows the law to distinguish between the sexes where such distinctions are substantially related to important governmental objectives.The bill requires and states that, despite any provision of state law to the contrary, distinctions between the sexes be considered substantially related to the important governmental objectives of protecting the health, safety, and privacy of individuals, with respect to the following areas:

● Athletics;● Prisons or other detention facilities;● Domestic violence centers;● Rape crisis centers;● Locker rooms;● Restrooms; and● Other areas where biology, safety, or privacy are implicated that result in separate accommodations.

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