Alabama lawmakers would define man and woman based on sperm and ova

[Jessica_Rose]

Alabama lawmakers would define man and woman based on sperm and ova

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/alabama-lawmakers-would-define-man-and-woman-based-on-sperm-and-ova/ar-BB1iEYwS?cvid=709cf62e27874468a05aae03c08d097c&ei=108

Story by By KIM CHANDLER (21 Feb 2024)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers are advancing legislation that would strictly define who is considered female and male based on their reproductive systems. Opponents said the move could erode the rights of transgender and intersex people in the state.

"There are only two sexes, and every individual is either male or female," declares the Senate bill approved in committee on Tuesday.

It defines sex based on reproductive anatomy and says schools and local governments can establish single-sex spaces, such as bathrooms, based on those definitions. A House committee plans to take up similar legislation Wednesday.

"I am here today to stand for women's rights," said Republican Sen. April Weaver, the sponsor of the bill. She said the definitions will guide courts in interpreting existing laws and "codifies the time-honored definitions of male, female, woman, man, boy, girl, mother, father, and sex."

The bill states that a female is someone who, barring accident or anomaly, has a "reproductive system that at some point produces ova" and male as someone who, barring accident or anomaly, has a "reproductive system that at some point produces sperm." The bill requires any state-supported entity collecting information related to sex to "identify each individual as either male or female at birth."