A bill banning biological males from women’s sports passed the state Senate Education Committee in a party-line vote as Pennsylvania Democrats continue to oppose the policy.

It now goes to the full Senate. The GOP majority is expected to pass it.

Senate Bill 9, known as the Save Women’s Sports Act, would require public schools and colleges to label sports teams as male, female, or coed, according to lead sponsor Sen. Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland). The legislation states that only biological females can join teams designated for women. The bill would also allow students to take legal action if they are harmed by violations of the law.

All four Democrats on the committee, including local Sens. Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester) and Tim Kearney (D-Delaware), voted no. Neither one could be immediately reached for comment.

“​The passage of the Save Women’s Sports Act by the Senate Education Committee marks a significant step toward maintaining integrity and fairness in women’s sports,” Ward said. “​This bill is about ensuring that female athletes have a level playing field and that the progress made throughout the past decades in women’s athletics is protected.”

Polls show Pennsylvania Democrats are on the wrong side of this issue in the eyes of voters. A New York Times/Ipsos poll released earlier this year found 79 percent of voters — including 67 percent of Democrats — believe males who identify as females should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports.

At the federal level, Pennsylvania Democrats have also opposed bills protecting women-only sports. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and the three Democrats who represent the Philadelphia suburbs in Congress — Reps. Madeleine Dean, Chrissy Houlahan, and Mary Gay Scanlon — all voted against federal legislation earlier this year.

In Harrisburg, some of the representatives who sponsored a similar bill in 2021 to combat the Biden administration’s changes to Title IX were pleased the bill is on its way toward passage in the full Senate. Although, now that President Donald Trump is in office, he’s signed an executive order protecting women who play sports from competing with biological males.

Sen. Tracy Pennycuick (R-Montgomery), one of the bill’s sponsors, told DV Journal that even with Trump’s executive order to protect women’s sports, he won’t be president forever and some school districts are ignoring it.

“I think it’s important that we solidify into law that women should be the only ones competing in women’s sports,” said Pennycuick. Asked about the bill’s chances in the Democrat-controlled House, she said, “I would like to think that the House would see that this is an issue that’s very, very prominent in our society today. And I think that they should understand that people just want to protect the opportunities for women.”

Males competing in girls’ and women’s sports is a violation of Title IX

“The reality is is, if you’re not a biological female, you should not be competing in women’s sports,” said Pennycuick. Men who have been through puberty are 10 to 30 percent stronger than women. She mentioned Payton McNabb, a female volleyball player who attended Trump’s address to Congress who suffered serious brain injury from a biological male on an opposing team who spiked the ball into her head.

Reps. Barb Gleim (R-Cumberland), Martina White (R-Philadelphia), and Stephanie Borowicz (R-Clinton/Union) said in a statement, “This legislation is critical to ensuring fairness, safety, and equal opportunity for female athletes across the Commonwealth. As prime co-sponsors of the Protect Women’s Sports Act (House Bill 158) in the House, we are committed to standing alongside our Senate colleagues to pass legislation that upholds the biological distinctions in sports and protects the integrity of women’s and girls’ athletics. Allowing males to compete on female sports teams undermines decades of hard-won progress and places young women at an undeniable disadvantage—on the field, in scholarship opportunities and in pursuit of athletic achievement.”

Emily Kreps with Pennsylvania Family Council praised the vote’s outcome. “I’m incredibly grateful for the leadership of Sens. Judy Ward and Kristin Phillips-Hill, along with all of the Republican members of the committee, for standing courageously on behalf of fairness and opportunity. Their message is clear: every girl deserves a safe and fair playing field, and biology—not identity—should determine athletic categories.”

Ward introduced the bill alongside her female colleagues, Pennycuick, Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill, Kim Ward, Lisa Baker, Michele Brooks, Camera Bartolotta, Rosemary Brown, Lynda Schlegel Culver, and Dawn Keefer. The bill has also garnered significant support from several co-sponsors, including Sens. Greg Rothman, Doug Mastriano, Wayne Langerholc, Scott Hutchinson, Scott Martin, Patrick Stefano, Cris Dush, and Frank Farry.