By Rep. Lisa Fink and Paula Scanlan, Guest Commentary //January 21, 2025//[read_meter]
By Rep. Lisa Fink and Paula Scanlan, Guest Commentary //January 21, 2025//[read_meter]
The Arizona Legislature passed a bill that would have codified “male” and “female” terms in Arizona state law last year. But Governor Katie Hobbs was the second female governor to veto this common sense, pro-woman legislation.
That’s why I, Paula Scanlan, am here again in Arizona to share my story and support Rep. Lisa Fink’s HB 2062.
As a former NCAA Division 1 swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, I was forced to not only compete with, but also to undress in the presence of Lia Thomas, a six-foot-four-inch-tall man fully intact with male genitalia. This was not a one-time occurrence. It was 18 times per week. As a sexual assault survivor, I was adversely impacted by having a male in my locker room without my consent. I wish no woman would have to go through an experience like this.
But unfortunately my story is not unique. Arizona champion cyclist Natalie Church was just 17 years old when she was forced to compete against a 40-year-old male. When she expressed concerns, USA Cycling ignored them.
Without defining sex-based words in Arizona, we can never prevent sex discrimination like this. HB 2062 would legally define sex-based words and help to ensure Arizonan women, like Natalie, have access to single-sex spaces and opportunities, not only in sports, but also prisons, locker rooms, rape crisis centers, and domestic violence shelters.
With my work at the Protect Arizona Children Coalition, I, Rep. Fink, saw the need for defining common sex-based words, such as “woman” and “female,” used in 107 state statutes, and so I introduced HB 2062.
If passed into law, this bill would do three common-sense things: define sex-based terms already used in state law, declare the state’s interest in protecting single-sex spaces, and ensure the accuracy of publicly collected data.
It will help protect women’s hard-earned rights and safeguard female opportunities and private spaces from attack by those who seek to manipulate the definition of words to achieve policies that would never be supported by most Arizonians.
With the recent bipartisan U.S. House passage of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, it should be easy for Arizona leaders across the aisle to support this common-sense piece of legislation. This passage follows the Federal District Court in Kentucky’s decision to strike down the Biden Administration’s unlawful attempt to redefine “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity.” The Court’s ruling applies to Arizona, a major win for women and girls.
Further showcasing momentum, over three-fourths of voters nationwide said preventing men from accessing women’s private spaces, athletics, and educational opportunities was important to them in deciding who to vote for in November. Leaders across the country are starting to take action on this national mandate from the American people. Now Arizona leaders must also stand up for objective truth and preserve the privacy, safety, and equal opportunities of women and girls.
Stand with Women champions in the Arizona Legislature have already passed this legislation. It’s time to give Governor Hobbs another chance to do the right thing and ensure the 3 million women and girls across the state have equal rights and opportunities.
Paula Scanlan is a Legislative Liaison at Independent Women (iwv.org) and a former swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a teammate of Lia Thomas.
Rep. Lisa Fink represents Legislative District 27.
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