RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia State Board of Health unanimously voted Monday to accept a petition that could lead to regulations banning transgender girls and women from competing in girls' and women's sports.
The petition, filed by three current or former college swimmers in Virginia, also seeks to prevent transgender women from accessing "designated female spaces where females are likely to be in any state of undress."
"We want to continue to garner support and protect women in their private spaces, and support fair competition," Carter Satterfield, a Roanoke College swimmer and one of the petitioners, said after the vote. "We're so excited about a unanimous decision and we're we're really excited about bringing this forward and hope to continue to garner the support. We've got awesome support."
Satterfield, an incoming senior, said a transgender athlete joined her team when she was a sophomore. Although they didn't have to change together and the athlete eventually left the team, Satterfield said the experience motivated her to prevent other women from going through the same situation.
"Competing against someone that biologically has an advantage over me was so disheartening. We were miserable. We watched him swim every day, faster than us, stronger than us," Satterfield said.
The majority of in-person public comments at the meeting supported the petition, with 18 people speaking in favor and pointed to public polls that they said show public opinion was on their side.
"Why should a few biological males upend the system and damage the integrity of female sports? A single biological male in a women's event or a team affects all women. It's not just the woman who loses her place," said supporter Ann Robeson.
However, health department staff analyzed over 2,300 comments received online ahead of the meeting and reported that 54% opposed the petition.
Two speakers representing the ACLU of Virginia and Equality Virginia spoke against the petition during the meeting, arguing it exceeded the board's authority and would invite legal challenges while harming the transgender community.
"In addition to inviting legal challenge, the proposed regulations would be detrimental to all women's health. They would require athletic governing bodies and schools to engage in dangerous gender policing and sex testing for enforcement," said Wyatt Rolla, Senior Transgender Rights Attorney at the ACLU. He added that sports guidance is already issued on this subject the Virginia High School League and the NCAA.
"At the core of this petition is a desire to label specific group of Virginians as harmful based solely on their identity," Narissa Rahaman, Executive Director of Equality Virginia added. "They are now singling out fellow Virginians saying that their existence creates a public health crisis. Such fear mongering harms all women in Virginia. The so-called safety concerns around trans-inclusion in sports or facilities often perpetuate harmful stereotypes that portray women as fragile and in need of protecting, distracting from the real issues facing women's sports, such as pay inequities, sexual assault and racism."
Board members (all of them except one were appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin) did not debate the issue before voting. Member Walter Vest motioned to accept the petition, saying the board had a "responsibility" to do so.
Monday's vote is just the first step in what could be a lengthy regulatory process. According to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), creating these regulations typically takes between 18 and 24 months.
"After evaluation and consideration, the Board of Health decided to grant the petition for rule-making. The Board of Health based its vote on a thorough assessment of the petition’s merits in the context of Virginia's ongoing health needs. The next step in the regulatory process is to draft a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action (NOIRA) for the Board of Health’s future consideration," VDH's Director of Communications said in a statement after the vote. "The Virginia Department of Health remains committed to making Virginia the healthiest state in the nation, and we will work with the Board of Health to move forward with the regulatory process."
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
