Washington ballot measure could force all girls to have genital inspections to play sportshttps://www.advocate.com/politics/states/washington-kids-genital-exams 🔗Desiree Guerrero (4 Aug 2026)
A new, highly controversial initiative will be presented to voters in Washington state this fall that would specifically bar transgender athletes from participating on girls' sports teams, according to a report from New York magazine affiliate, The Cut. While another legislative attack on trans girls in school sports is sadly nothing new under the Trump administration, the extremism of this particular measure has resulted in strong opposition from advocates of both cisgender and transgender female student-athletes.
If passed, IL26-638 would impose special eligibility requirements on athletes from kindergarten through high school, requiring them to certify their sex assigned at birth through genetic screening, a testosterone levels test, or even an examination of their reproductive anatomy at their yearly sports physical.
The official paperwork for IL26-638 states its purpose is to protect "the integrity and fairness of women's interscholastic sports necessitates that students compete in athletic activities consistent with the gender assigned at birth. ... Leveraging the existing physical examination process to verify biological sex ensures equity, safety, and competitive balance in sports intended exclusively for female students, while respecting the rights and opportunities of all participants."
