Governor Kay Ivey, R-Ala., signed a bill on Tuesday preventing transgender women from competing in female sports at the collegiate level.
The state previously had a ban against transgender women in female youth sports in grades K-12, which was put in place in 2021.
The movement toward collegiate regulations began in the middle of April.
"Forcing women to compete against biological men would reverse decades of progress that women have made for equal opportunity in athletics," Republican Rep. Susan DuBose, the bill’s sponsor, said last month.
Whether transgender women should be allowed to participate in women’s sports has been a topic of debate, with former swimmer Riley Gaines leading the charge.
Earlier this month, Gaines called for women to boycott participating in sports while transgender athletes are allowed to compete.
Dubose said that "no amount of hormone therapy can undo all those advantages" of being born male.
Alabama’s bill makes it the most recent state to put restrictions on transgender athletes. Now 20 states have passed legislation prohibiting female sports participation for transgender athletes at the collegiate or K-12 level.
Opponents of the bill say it shames transgender people and is rooted in unfair discrimination.
Alabama State Director of the Human Rights Campaign Carmarion D. Anderson-Harvey said that the legislation is part of a “systematic attack against LGBTQ+ people” in Alabama and elsewhere.
“If you are a biological male, you are not going to be competing in women’s and girls' sports in Alabama. It’s about fairness,” the Alabama governor said.
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