The recent prohibition of allowing transgender athletes to participate in women’s sports raises high tension in America. 

On Tuesday, January 14th the new bill titled “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act” passed by a vote of 218 voting in favor of the bill, 206 voting in opposition of the new bill, and one voting present.

The “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act” bill passed with a majority vote, which entails that the federal law that once banned sex discrimination in schools, Title IX, would be amended to recognize individuals “biological sex-based entirely on a person reproductive genitalia and genetics at the time of birth” and prohibit individuals who are “male” to have any role or participation in any offered athletic programs or activity that is designed for women and girls. If schools don’t comply with the new bill they risk losing federal funding.

Many House Representatives spoke out about their decision to vote for the passing of the bill saying they don’t feel comfortable having men compete at the same level and skill set as women, and in recent years, the support for transgender individuals has dropped increasingly. 

Republicans argued that transgender athletes had biological advantages to the sports they were competing in, posing a risk to the health and well-being of the girls and women competing alongside them.

In an interview with CBS News, the Massachusetts representative for the House stated that Democrats are supposed to fear what other people think of their opinions and that he wouldn’t want his daughters competing with a transgender athlete because “I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete.”