Republicans in the Alabama House brought a popular, multi-year legislative effort to a successful close by passing the What is a Woman Act to codify definitions of sex-based terms such as “man,” “woman,” “male,” and “female” into state law — based on biological reality at birth.
After passing the Senate last week, the bill now advances to Governor Kay Ivey, who has already promised to sign it, saying again today “I look forward to signing it into law to codify common sense!”
The bill, SB78 by State Rep. Susan DuBose and State Sen. April Weaver (R-Briarfield) was passed in a 77-12 vote.
“We have had six public hearings on this bill, and this has bill has passed twice out of this body. We do need to pass this law for clarity, certainty and uniformity in the courts and in the laws of Alabama,” DuBose (R-Hoover) told colleagues today.
“We have used the word “woman” 149 times in our Alabama laws. When these words were passed, it was assumed that these words were tied to biology. This bill clarifies the original meaning of sex based terms in our statutes, it ensures that laws passed by the legislature are applied as this body intended and not twisted by judges or bureaucrats in Alabama, we have common sense.
“We know what a woman is. We know that God created us, man or woman, that our sex is fixed and determined at birth,” DuBose said.
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Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) celebrated the bill’s passage, saying, “Alabama is a state that refuses to back down from its commonsense conservative values.”
“We believe boys should play against boys and girls should play against girls. We believe that men have no business using the girls’ restroom. We believe that there are only two genders—male and female—and that we are all made in the image of God. I am proud that the House has passed Rep. Susan Dubose’s ‘What Is a Woman Act’ and look forward to Governor Ivey signing it into law.”
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
