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Sen. J.D. Ford (D-Indianapolis) authored a few amendments, including one to prohibit genital inspections on female athletes whose gender is challenged and one to create penalties for allegations made "in bad faith."
Lauren Chapman / IPB NewsA Senate committee passed a measure to ban transgender women from competing in collegiate athletics. Democrats proposed several amendments to pull back or clarify the measure — all failed along party lines.
One of the amendments proposed by Democrats would have added protections for female athletes whose gender is challenged under House Bill 1041. The bill makes no requirements for what a determination of an athlete’s gender is, but the amendment would have prevented invasive inspections of genitalia.
Sen. Andrea Hunley (D-Indianapolis) said she had wanted clarification on that issue.
“This was a question that we got from constituents, so that’s where this amendment came from. And so this was a concern that came up,” Hunley said.
That amendment was defeated along party lines in committee. Other amendments to create penalties for allegations made “in bad faith” against student athletes and to add requirements for equal pay in college athletics were also defeated.
Lisa Welch is the parent of a transgender child. She said this measure — much like Indiana’s 2022 ban on transgender girls from participating in K-12 athletics — doesn’t solve a problem.
“It’s not solving a problem. It’s not protecting women — it’s not protecting anyone,” Welch said. “It’s only solving a problem if you believe one thing and one thing only. And that is the existence of transgender people.”
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Sophia Almeida said the measure “validates discrimination against all transgender students.” She’s a student at Indiana University.
“It tells me and others like me that we are less worthy of full participation in the IU community and the state,” she said. “Even without playing sports, I feel the weight of this exclusion.”
The legislation is similar to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in early February. The NCAA updated its policies to conform with that ban. Gov. Mike Braun signed a similar executive order earlier this month.
The NCAA’s previous transgender athlete policy required transgender women to receive gender-affirming care to compete in women’s sports. The association’s president said there are fewer than 10 transgender athletes competing among the more than 500,000 represented by the association.
The limited studies on transgender athletes suggest that transgender women who receive gender-affirming care have "no clear biological advantages" in elite sports — and may even perform worse. Research on transgender athletes have called for more studies and cautioned against blanket bans like the one Indiana has proposed.
The bill now goes to the full House.
Lauren is our digital editor. Contact her at lauren@ipbnews.org or follow her on Bluesky at @laurenechapman.bsky.social.
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