‘My child is a female in her heart and soul, and according to her medical labs’
The parents of a transgender female track athlete recently complained at a hearing that making their child compete against fellow biological males would be “cruel.”
Sarah Hansen told the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association last week that running against female athletes was “critical for [their son’s] well-being — and that of other transgender children,” according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Hansen and her husband Tom said their son has been “on a journey for her to transition to the girl that she always has been” since age 15, “including psychological evaluations, medical appointments and testing, and hours of therapy.”
“My child is a female in her heart and soul, and according to her medical labs,” Sarah Hansen said. “Having her play sports with males would be cruel.”
Tom Hansen read a statement from his son’s doctor which said “body characteristics of trans girls are differences, not absolute advantages” and that “gender exists dimensionally, not on a binary.”
Following President Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, the PIAA last month altered the language of its bylaws — “gender” was changed to “sex,” and the final decision about any competition was left to “the school.”
The change angered progressive groups in the state, including the ACLU of Pennsylvania, the Women’s Law Project, and Planned Parenthood Association of Pennsylvania.
MORE: Coach suspended after filing complaint about transgender athlete on women’s volleyball team
Among the complaints, the groups told the PIAA that “anti-trans sports bans and restrictions only codify sexist stereotypes of how female athletes should look or play, which promotes body policing of any student who deviates from this ideal of femininity.”
At the PIAA hearing, a statement from Hansen’s son was read in which he said “If you remove the ability of trans people to compete with a team that corresponds with their gender, then you’ll strip them of their opportunity to develop as people.”
One of the son’s teammates said in a testimonial “I have never felt like any of my meets or races have been unfair because of [Hansen’s son’s] participation,” and the track coach wrote that the Hansens’ son’s “presence on the team fosters a spirit of unity, sportsmanship, and inclusivity.”
The Colonial School District is a defendant in a recent lawsuit filed by a female track athlete defeated by the Hansens’ son in a cross country competition last fall. The plaintiff contends her 14th Amendment right to “equal protection of the laws” was violated by having to race against a biological male.
The Colonial District, which the Hansen boy attends, said it would oppose the suit.
As reported by The Inquirer, the suit’s plaintiff allegedly told her trans opponent at a competition “You are not a girl. You should not be racing against girls.”
MORE: Transgender athletes trounce the female competition
IMAGE CAPTION & CREDIT: Colonial School District logo with medal; Colonial School District
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