Victory! Women’s Bill of Rights Passes in Kansas with Bipartisan Support
WoLF’s historic model legislation now moves to Governor Kelly’s desk for signature
The Kansas Women’s Bill of Rights, based on model legislation crafted by WoLF and Independent Women’s Voices (IWV), passed the Kansas Senate today, making it the first state in the nation to pass the historic bill. The bill defines sex in state laws based on biology, codifies “intermediate scrutiny” to ensure that women are treated fairly by courts interpreting sex discrimination laws, and protects the ability to collect data on sex.
The bill already passed the Kansas House with support from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Following its success in the Senate it will move to the Governor’s desk. Governor Kelly has vetoed multiple bills in the past that aim to protect women’s rights and spaces, such as the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which she vetoed last April. If she does veto the bill, the legislature could override it if each chamber voted to do so with at least 84 votes in the House and 27 in the Senate.
About the Women’s Bill of Rights
The Women’s Bill of Rights (WBOR) was co-written by WoLF and IWV as model legislation for states and the federal government. The bill is in response to the increasingly common corruption of sex-based language and established rights by government administrations and judiciaries, without the participation of elected officials. As WoLF’s Lauren Bone and Jennifer Braceras, Director of the Independent Women’s Law Center, wrote in an op-ed for The Hill last June:
“By redefining the word “sex” to mean “gender” or “gender identity,” unelected officials are rewriting laws that prohibit unjust sex discrimination to require unjust discrimination against women.”
#1. Establishing a Biological Definition of Sex
The Women’s Bill of Rights does not change any existing state or federal laws, but rather affirms longstanding, clear, and accurate statutory definitions of terms like sex (“his or her biological sex, either male or female, at birth”), female, (“an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova”), and male, (“an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female”). The bill similarly provides definitions for the words woman, girl, mother, and their male equivalents.
The current lack of clear or adequate definitions in law allows sex-based rights and laws regarding sex discrimination to be misinterpreted. Enshrining these definitions in state or federal laws prevents unelected bureaucrats or judges from deciding that sex can mean gender identity. Rather, it makes it clear that sex in state or federal law is based on biological reality.
These definitions will help protect single-sex spaces like women’s sports, prisons, rape and domestic violence shelters, and other places where women are vulnerable by making it harder to erase them out of existence by simply changing definitions, as the Biden Administration has already begun to do with Title IX and the Supreme Court did with Title IX in Bostock.
#2. Enshrining Intermediate Scrutiny
The Women’s Bill of Rights goes beyond past attempts to codify women’s rights by recognizing that a sex-blind approach to “equality” often leaves women at a disadvantage. Real differences exist between the sexes. These differences mean that, in certain circumstances such as where safety, privacy, or biology are concerned, distinguishing between the sexes and providing different spaces, opportunities, or resources is often the best way to ensure equality and fairness.
This, in legal terms, is called intermediate scrutiny. It stands in contrast to strict scrutiny, which does not allow for any differentiation between groups and it applies to cases of discrimination on the basis of race.
The Supreme Court of the US has already established that the intermediate scrutiny standard should be used when considering cases of sex discrimination. “This forbids unfair discrimination against similarly-situated males and females, but allows the law to recognize sex differences in certain circumstances,” wrote Bone and Braceras.
Codifying intermediate scrutiny is one aspect that makes the Women’s Bill of Rights stand out against past attempts at enshrining women’s rights, such as the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA, which failed to be ratified prior to its deadline, would force judiciaries to apply the strict scrutiny standard. This would mean that, under the ERA, women-only sports, rape and domestic violence shelters, or bathrooms would be considered Unconstitutional. (Read more about WoLF’s arguments against the ERA here.)
#3. Protecting Accurate Data Collection
Finally, the WBOR requires that when schools, agencies, and offices collect vital statistics on sex, they accurately record biological sex. This includes data such as those collected for anti-discrimination purposes, public health and safety, crime, and economics.
The collection of this data is vitally important for providing accurate information to the public on the unique challenges facing women and girls. With many agencies and offices currently collecting data based on “gender identity,” the usefulness of such data for research into women and girl’s needs is neglected.
In her book “Invisible Women,” Caroline Criado-Perez clearly highlights the many ways in which sex-blind research has failed women and girls, and prevented progress. She writes:
“Getting to grips with the reality that gender-neutral does not automatically mean gender-equal would be an important start. And the existence of sex-disaggregated data would certainly make it much harder to keep insisting, in the face of all the evidence to the contrary, that women’s needs can safely be ignored in pursuit of a greater good.”
Such data is essential not just for women generally, but especially for particularly vulnerable groups such as lesbian and bisexual women, domestic violence and sexual violence survivors, and incarcerated women and girls. The WBOR ensures that data about women and girls can be trusted and relied upon by those representing their interests.
Take Action: Show your support
Since we launched the Women’s Bill of Rights last year, WoLF and IWV’s model legislation has already been proposed in both chambers of Congress and states across the nation. This signals a huge wave of progress for women and girls, who are standing up to reclaim their rights against regressive gender ideology.
But it’s not enough. We’re on a mission to enshrine the Women’s Bill of Rights in all fifty states, and we need your support!
Lawmakers listen when their constituents speak up. Write your lawmakers today and urge them to support the Women’s Bill of Rights in your state!
