Catholic bishops intervene in US battle over trans athletes in female sports  

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to protect women’s sports from participation by biological males who identify as female.

The US Supreme Court is set to hear two cases that could determine if US states may legally reserve girls’ and women’s sports for biological females.

The cases, State of West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, will test the constitutionality of laws in West Virginia and Idaho designed to exclude male competitors from female leagues. Both laws have been blocked by federal courts, prompting appeals to the nation’s highest court in the land.

Among more than 50 briefs lodged with the Supreme Court is a strongly worded amicus curiae brief from the country’s Catholic bishops' organisation, which has thrown its support behind the two states.

An amicus curiae – literally meaning “friend of the court” – brief is a submission by a person or group that is not a direct party to a case but has a strong interest in its outcome. Such briefs are intended to provide the judges with wider perspectives, legal arguments or consequences that the court might otherwise overlook.

In the amicus curiae brief from the bishops’ conference, the Church leaders tell the court that “laws creating female-only sports pass muster”, and insist that overturning them would cause “disastrous practical effects” for Catholic schools and institutions.

Their intervention stresses that girls and women would be denied fair competition if required to face male opponents. Citing medical evidence, the bishops note that physical differences between the sexes remain decisive even after medical interventions.

“Given the inherent athletic advantages that males possess, creating female-only teams ensures that girls and women can safely and fairly compete,” the brief declares.

The bishops also warn that Catholic schools could be forced to scrap athletics altogether if compelled to admit biological males to girls’ teams.

“If Catholic schools were forced to allow males to compete on or against their female-only teams, they would need to abandon athletics programmes or stop accepting federal funding,” the bishops warn.

Such an outcome, they add, would harm students nationwide, many of whom rely on subsidised lunches and other federal programmes to which schools currently have access.

The brief notes that the implications extend beyond education. Catholic hospitals, which provide healthcare to millions of Americans, could face pressure under federal law to provide “gender-affirming” interventions if Title IX – the federal law which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or education program that receives funding from the federal government – is interpreted in the way the lower courts have ruled.

“Affirming the Fourth Circuit’s decision could have catastrophic effects on religious hospitals,” the bishops warn.

The two cases have arisen from challenges brought by transgender individuals who have sought to compete on girls’ track teams in Idaho and West Virginia.

Supporters of the two state laws argue they are necessary to protect the future of women’s sport. Opponents say the bans discriminate against transgender youths.

A ruling is expected next year and is set to reverberate well beyond West Virginia and Idaho, influencing how America resolves disputes over gender policy, religious liberty and the future of women’s sport.

Photo: Six and seven-year old players on the Rainbow Unicorn girls team work on shooting drills during a practice in Los Angeles, California, 30 April 2019. (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images.)