WHAT ABOUT BOYS SPORTS
Utah bans transgender athletes in girls sports despite vetoTHEY NEVER TALK ABOUT TRANSBOYS
OMG GIRLS IN BOYS BATHROOMS
SOUNDS ABSURD RIGHT
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State Rep. Kera Birkeland, a Republican high school basketball coach who led Utah's efforts to ban transgender girls from youth sports, addresses a crowd of supporters on the steps of the Utah State Capitol on Friday, March 25, 2022, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Lawmakers convened to override Gov. Spencer Cox, who vetoed their proposed ban. (AP Photo/Samuel Metz)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — GOP lawmakers in Utah pushed through a ban on transgender youth athletes playing on girls teams Friday, overriding a veto and joining 11 other states with similar laws amid a nationwide culture war.
A veto letter from Gov. Spencer Cox drew national attention with a poignant argument that such laws target vulnerable transgender kids already at high suicide risk.
Business leaders also sounded the alarm that the ban could have a multimillion-dollar economic impact on Utah, including the possible loss of the NBA All-Star Game next year. The Utah Jazz called the ban “discriminatory legislation” and opposed it.
Before the veto, the ban received support from a majority of Utah lawmakers, but fell short of the two-thirds needed to override it. Its sponsors on Friday flipped 10 Republicans in the House and five in the Senate who had previously voted against the proposal.
Cox was the second GOP governor this week to overrule lawmakers on a sports-participation ban, but the proposal won support from a vocal conservative base that has particular sway in Utah’s state primary season. Even with those contests looming, however, some Republicans stood with Cox to reject the ban.
“I cannot support this bill. I cannot support the veto override and if it costs me my seat so be it. I will do the right thing, as I always do,” said Republican Sen. Daniel Thatcher.
With the override of Cox’s veto, a dozen states have some sort of ban on transgender kids in school sports. Utah’s law takes effect July 1.
Not long ago efforts to regulate transgender kids’ participation in sports failed to gain traction in statehouses, but in the past two years groups like the American Principles Project began a well-coordinated effort to promote the legislation throughout the country. Since last year, bans have been introduced in at least 25 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This week, lawmakers in Arizona and Oklahoma passed bans.
“You start these fights and inject them into politics,” said Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project. “You pass them in a few states and it starts to take on a life of its own and becomes organic. We helped start this fight and we’re helping carry it through, but a lot of this is coming from the local level.”
Leaders in the deeply conservative Utah say they need the law to protect women’s sports. The lawmakers argue that more transgender athletes with possible physical advantages could eventually dominate the field and change the nature of women’s sports without legal intervention.
Utah has only one transgender girl playing in K-12 sports who would be affected by the ban. There have been no allegations of any of the four transgender youth athletes in Utah having competitive advantages.
The group Visit Salt Lake, which hosts conferences, shows and events, said the override could cost the state $50 million in revenue. The Utah-based DNA-testing genealogy giant Ancestry.com also opposed it.
Salt Lake City is set to host the NBA All-Star game in February 2023. League spokesman Mike Bass said the league is “working closely” with the Jazz on the matter. The team is partially owned by NBA all-star Dwyane Wade, who has a transgender daughter.
Ban supporters, though, say they planned ahead to blunt the impact of boycotts like those that forced North Carolina to repeal a law limiting which public restrooms transgender people could use, Schilling said. The American Principles Project strategically focused on early legislation in populous, economic juggernaut states where companies and organizations would lose sizable investments if they left. With a precedent of muted economic backlash set, the group expects smaller states to get similar treatment.
Legislative leaders in Utah said concerns about economic blowback and the NBA’s withdrawal from Salt Lake City were premature and noted Texas and Florida hadn’t faced boycotts.
“I hope the NBA and other groups understand that our intent here is to protect women sports and keep women’s sports safe and competitive. And if they have thoughts on how best to do that, we’d be happy to chat with them,” said Utah Republican House Speaker Brad Wilson.
Utah has historically been among the nation’s most conservative states. But an influx of new residents and technology companies coupled with the growing influence of the tourism industry often sets the stage for heated debate over social issues in the state home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
On Thursday and Friday, demonstrators both for and against a ban rallied at Utah’s Capitol.
Friday’s deliberations came after more than a year of negotiation between social conservatives and LGBTQ advocates. Republican sponsor Rep. Kera Birkeland worked with Cox and activists at Equality Utah before introducing legislation that would require transgender student athletes to go before a government-appointed commission.
The proposal, although framed as a compromise, failed to gain traction on either side. LGBTQ advocates took issue with Republican politicians appointing commission members and evaluation criteria that included body measurements such as hip-to-knee ratio.
In the final hours before the Legislature was set to adjourn earlier this month, GOP lawmakers supplanted the legislation with an all-out ban.
Birkeland, who is also a basketball coach, acknowledged the proposal provoked intense emotion, but said conversations with female student athletes compelled her to continue her effort.
“When we say, ‘This isn’t a problem in our state,’ what we say to those girls is, ‘Sit down, be quiet and make nice,’” she said.
Lawmakers anticipate court challenges similar to blocked bans in Idaho and West Virginia, where athletes have said the policies violate their civil rights. They’ve argued the bans violate their privacy rights, due to tests required if an athlete’s gender is challenged. The ACLU of Utah said on Friday that a lawsuit was inevitable.
Utah’s policy would revert to the commission if courts halt the ban.
The threat of lawsuits worried school districts and the Utah High School Athletic Association, which has said it lacks funds to defend the policy in court. Lawmakers also amended the ban on Friday to provide taxpayer dollars to underwrite fees from potential lawsuits and insulate districts and the association from liability.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — GOP lawmakers in Utah pushed through a ban on transgender youth athletes playing on girls teams Friday, overriding a veto and joining 11 other states with similar laws amid a nationwide culture war.
A veto letter from Gov. Spencer Cox drew national attention with a poignant argument that such laws target vulnerable transgender kids already at high suicide risk.
Business leaders also sounded the alarm that the ban could have a multimillion-dollar economic impact on Utah, including the possible loss of the NBA All-Star Game next year. The Utah Jazz called the ban “discriminatory legislation” and opposed it.
Before the veto, the ban received support from a majority of Utah lawmakers, but fell short of the two-thirds needed to override it. Its sponsors on Friday flipped 10 Republicans in the House and five in the Senate who had previously voted against the proposal.
Cox was the second GOP governor this week to overrule lawmakers on a sports-participation ban, but the proposal won support from a vocal conservative base that has particular sway in Utah’s state primary season. Even with those contests looming, however, some Republicans stood with Cox to reject the ban.
“I cannot support this bill. I cannot support the veto override and if it costs me my seat so be it. I will do the right thing, as I always do,” said Republican Sen. Daniel Thatcher.
With the override of Cox’s veto, a dozen states have some sort of ban on transgender kids in school sports. Utah’s law takes effect July 1.
Not long ago efforts to regulate transgender kids’ participation in sports failed to gain traction in statehouses, but in the past two years groups like the American Principles Project began a well-coordinated effort to promote the legislation throughout the country. Since last year, bans have been introduced in at least 25 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This week, lawmakers in Arizona and Oklahoma passed bans.
“You start these fights and inject them into politics,” said Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project. “You pass them in a few states and it starts to take on a life of its own and becomes organic. We helped start this fight and we’re helping carry it through, but a lot of this is coming from the local level.”
Leaders in the deeply conservative Utah say they need the law to protect women’s sports. The lawmakers argue that more transgender athletes with possible physical advantages could eventually dominate the field and change the nature of women’s sports without legal intervention.
Utah has only one transgender girl playing in K-12 sports who would be affected by the ban. There have been no allegations of any of the four transgender youth athletes in Utah having competitive advantages.
The group Visit Salt Lake, which hosts conferences, shows and events, said the override could cost the state $50 million in revenue. The Utah-based DNA-testing genealogy giant Ancestry.com also opposed it.
Salt Lake City is set to host the NBA All-Star game in February 2023. League spokesman Mike Bass said the league is “working closely” with the Jazz on the matter. The team is partially owned by NBA all-star Dwyane Wade, who has a transgender daughter.
Ban supporters, though, say they planned ahead to blunt the impact of boycotts like those that forced North Carolina to repeal a law limiting which public restrooms transgender people could use, Schilling said. The American Principles Project strategically focused on early legislation in populous, economic juggernaut states where companies and organizations would lose sizable investments if they left. With a precedent of muted economic backlash set, the group expects smaller states to get similar treatment.
Legislative leaders in Utah said concerns about economic blowback and the NBA’s withdrawal from Salt Lake City were premature and noted Texas and Florida hadn’t faced boycotts.
“I hope the NBA and other groups understand that our intent here is to protect women sports and keep women’s sports safe and competitive. And if they have thoughts on how best to do that, we’d be happy to chat with them,” said Utah Republican House Speaker Brad Wilson.
Utah has historically been among the nation’s most conservative states. But an influx of new residents and technology companies coupled with the growing influence of the tourism industry often sets the stage for heated debate over social issues in the state home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
On Thursday and Friday, demonstrators both for and against a ban rallied at Utah’s Capitol.
Friday’s deliberations came after more than a year of negotiation between social conservatives and LGBTQ advocates. Republican sponsor Rep. Kera Birkeland worked with Cox and activists at Equality Utah before introducing legislation that would require transgender student athletes to go before a government-appointed commission.
The proposal, although framed as a compromise, failed to gain traction on either side. LGBTQ advocates took issue with Republican politicians appointing commission members and evaluation criteria that included body measurements such as hip-to-knee ratio.
In the final hours before the Legislature was set to adjourn earlier this month, GOP lawmakers supplanted the legislation with an all-out ban.
Birkeland, who is also a basketball coach, acknowledged the proposal provoked intense emotion, but said conversations with female student athletes compelled her to continue her effort.
“When we say, ‘This isn’t a problem in our state,’ what we say to those girls is, ‘Sit down, be quiet and make nice,’” she said.
Lawmakers anticipate court challenges similar to blocked bans in Idaho and West Virginia, where athletes have said the policies violate their civil rights. They’ve argued the bans violate their privacy rights, due to tests required if an athlete’s gender is challenged. The ACLU of Utah said on Friday that a lawsuit was inevitable.
Utah’s policy would revert to the commission if courts halt the ban.
The threat of lawsuits worried school districts and the Utah High School Athletic Association, which has said it lacks funds to defend the policy in court. Lawmakers also amended the ban on Friday to provide taxpayer dollars to underwrite fees from potential lawsuits and insulate districts and the association from liability.
Arizona Republicans fight culture war in battleground state
By JONATHAN J. COOPER
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Arizona Republicans pass two bills targeting transgender youth rights
The Arizona House passed the bill not long after it also approved a strict ban on abortions in the state.
Demonstrators protest near the Supreme Court as the Court hears oral arguments in three cases on LGBTQ discrimination protections in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019. Arizona Republicans Thursday passed two bills targeting transgender youth rights.
RELATED ACLU sues to block Texas from investigating parents of transgender children
The SB 1138 bill said, "It is of grave concern to the legislature that the medical community, despite the lack of studies showing that the benefits of such extreme interventions outweigh the risks, is allowing individuals who experience distress at identifying with their biological sex to be subjects of irreversible and drastic non-genital gender reassignment surgery and irreversible, permanently sterilizing genital gender reassignment surgery, which may actually increase the risk of suicide."
The Arizona ACLU urged Arizona Gov. Ducey to veto the bills targeting transgendered youth.
"Arizona has unfortunately joined the long list of states that have made bullying and discriminating against trans students a priority this legislative session," ACLU of Arizona policy director Darrell Hill said in a statement. "Gov. Ducey should follow in the footsteps of the Republican governors in Utah and Indiana and veto legislation that harms the health and well-being of transgender youth."
RELATED Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to veto last-minute bill banning transgender school athletes
Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox vetoed a bill that would have prohibited transgendered student athletes from participating in girl's sports.
Gov. Cox cited figures indicating 86% of all transgendered youth have considered suicide. He said he said he wants them to live.
In Indiana, GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed a similar bill.
Earlier on Thursday, the Arizona House also passed a bill banning abortions after 15 weeks and sent it to Ducey's desk, where he's expected to sign it. The state's House and Senate both narrowly passed the bill strictly along party lines.
Last April, Ducey signed into law a sweeping anti-abortion bill that criminalized abortions performed due to genetic issues of the fetus.
By JONATHAN J. COOPER
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FILE - A number of Arizona reproductive health, rights, and justice advocates protest an abortion bill at the Arizona Capitol Monday, April 26, 2021, in Phoenix. GOP lawmakers thrust Arizona into the national culture wars Thursday, March 24, 2022, when they passed three bills in party-line votes banning abortion after 15 weeks, prohibiting transgender girls from playing on girls sports teams and restricting gender-affirming health care for minors. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona has long been fertile ground for a social conservative agenda, with some of the nation’s toughest laws against abortion and a history of restricting LGBTQ rights.
That hasn’t changed even as Republican dominance has waned over the past five years, a fact made plain this week when GOP lawmakers passed strict measures targeting abortion and the rights of transgender young people.
“It’s just become this political wedge issue that our legislators use to get more votes, and it’s not fair,” said Andi Young, the parent of a transgender teenager and co-chair of the board of directors for GLSEN Phoenix, an advocacy group promoting inclusive education.
GOP lawmakers thrust Arizona into the national culture wars Thursday when they passed three bills in party-line votes banning abortion after 15 weeks, prohibiting transgender girls from playing on girls sports teams and restricting gender-affirming health care for minors.
The measures have been popular with the conservative base in states where Republicans dominate but could be politically risky in a battleground state where Democrats have made significant inroads.
Arizona Republicans have not aggressively promoted the bills as they’ve moved through the Legislature. Few GOP lawmakers explained their support during sometimes emotional debates in the House.
That doesn’t surprise Mike Noble, a former Republican political consultant who now does nonpartisan polling in the Southwest from his base in Phoenix.
“Those are clearly issues to really get the base fired up. However, the base is already fired up,” Noble said. “I think what you’re doing is giving the other side, who doesn’t have much of a reason to turn out, a reason to now come out and vote in these midterm elections.”
Democrats have grown increasingly successful in Arizona since Donald Trump’s election as president in 2016. Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly were elected to the Senate in 2018 and 2020, respectively, and President Joe Biden became only the second Democrat since Harry Truman to win the state’s electoral votes. Democrats control a majority of the state’s U.S. House seats and two of the top five state offices. Republican legislative majorities have dwindled to the bare minimum.
With that backdrop, Kelly’s reelection race this year could be pivotal to the GOP’s hopes of winning a majority in the U.S. Senate.
The decision on whether to sign the bills lies with Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who has been mum. Advocates on both sides of the issues moved swiftly to pressure him to sign or veto the bills.
Ducey opposes abortion rights and is widely expected to sign that bill. He has less of a track record on transgender issues, but has occasionally bucked the social conservatives in his party on issues affecting the LGBTQ community.
Last year, he vetoed a bill barring all classroom discussions about gender identity, sexual orientation or HIV/AIDS without parental permission. He later signed a scaled back version.
“Governor Ducey needs to veto these hateful bills; lives are in the balance,” Kell Olson, a staff attorney in Tucson for the LGBTQ rights group Lambda Legal, said in a statement.
Likewise, Cathi Herrod, the influential head of the social conservative group Center for Arizona Policy, blasted an email alert to the group’s supporters urging them to contact Ducey and press him to sign the sports participation bill.
“LET’S STAND UP FOR WOMENS SPORTS IN ARIZONA!” Herrod wrote.
Arizona and Florida could join Mississippi and Louisiana in adopting a 15-week abortion ban, and nearly a dozen have limited participation in girls sports. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state officials to investigate gender-affirming care as child abuse, and Arkansas banned it in a bill similar to Arizona’s. Both directives were put on hold by courts. A Florida bill awaiting the governor’s action would bar classroom instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation before fourth grade, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The Republican governors of Utah and Indiana this week vetoed bills banning transgender girls from girls sports, calling the issue virtually nonexistent in their states. Utah’s Republican lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto Friday, and Indiana lawmakers were considering doing the same.
In Arizona, about 16 high school athletes have receive waivers to play on the team that aligns with their gender identity, according to the Arizona Interscholastic Association.
“I will not stop fighting for women. I will not stop standing for women. I will not stop speaking for women. Especially my daughters, who wanted to win,” House Speaker Rusty Bowers said in explaining his support for the bill.
It’s adults who are hung up on the gender of kids playing sports, said Democratic Rep. Cesar Chavez.
“This is not a problem for these kids,” Chavez said. “Yet it’s a problem for these individuals who feel like they’re losing their antiquated political system.”
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona has long been fertile ground for a social conservative agenda, with some of the nation’s toughest laws against abortion and a history of restricting LGBTQ rights.
That hasn’t changed even as Republican dominance has waned over the past five years, a fact made plain this week when GOP lawmakers passed strict measures targeting abortion and the rights of transgender young people.
“It’s just become this political wedge issue that our legislators use to get more votes, and it’s not fair,” said Andi Young, the parent of a transgender teenager and co-chair of the board of directors for GLSEN Phoenix, an advocacy group promoting inclusive education.
GOP lawmakers thrust Arizona into the national culture wars Thursday when they passed three bills in party-line votes banning abortion after 15 weeks, prohibiting transgender girls from playing on girls sports teams and restricting gender-affirming health care for minors.
The measures have been popular with the conservative base in states where Republicans dominate but could be politically risky in a battleground state where Democrats have made significant inroads.
Arizona Republicans have not aggressively promoted the bills as they’ve moved through the Legislature. Few GOP lawmakers explained their support during sometimes emotional debates in the House.
That doesn’t surprise Mike Noble, a former Republican political consultant who now does nonpartisan polling in the Southwest from his base in Phoenix.
“Those are clearly issues to really get the base fired up. However, the base is already fired up,” Noble said. “I think what you’re doing is giving the other side, who doesn’t have much of a reason to turn out, a reason to now come out and vote in these midterm elections.”
Democrats have grown increasingly successful in Arizona since Donald Trump’s election as president in 2016. Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly were elected to the Senate in 2018 and 2020, respectively, and President Joe Biden became only the second Democrat since Harry Truman to win the state’s electoral votes. Democrats control a majority of the state’s U.S. House seats and two of the top five state offices. Republican legislative majorities have dwindled to the bare minimum.
With that backdrop, Kelly’s reelection race this year could be pivotal to the GOP’s hopes of winning a majority in the U.S. Senate.
The decision on whether to sign the bills lies with Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who has been mum. Advocates on both sides of the issues moved swiftly to pressure him to sign or veto the bills.
Ducey opposes abortion rights and is widely expected to sign that bill. He has less of a track record on transgender issues, but has occasionally bucked the social conservatives in his party on issues affecting the LGBTQ community.
Last year, he vetoed a bill barring all classroom discussions about gender identity, sexual orientation or HIV/AIDS without parental permission. He later signed a scaled back version.
“Governor Ducey needs to veto these hateful bills; lives are in the balance,” Kell Olson, a staff attorney in Tucson for the LGBTQ rights group Lambda Legal, said in a statement.
Likewise, Cathi Herrod, the influential head of the social conservative group Center for Arizona Policy, blasted an email alert to the group’s supporters urging them to contact Ducey and press him to sign the sports participation bill.
“LET’S STAND UP FOR WOMENS SPORTS IN ARIZONA!” Herrod wrote.
Arizona and Florida could join Mississippi and Louisiana in adopting a 15-week abortion ban, and nearly a dozen have limited participation in girls sports. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state officials to investigate gender-affirming care as child abuse, and Arkansas banned it in a bill similar to Arizona’s. Both directives were put on hold by courts. A Florida bill awaiting the governor’s action would bar classroom instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation before fourth grade, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The Republican governors of Utah and Indiana this week vetoed bills banning transgender girls from girls sports, calling the issue virtually nonexistent in their states. Utah’s Republican lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto Friday, and Indiana lawmakers were considering doing the same.
In Arizona, about 16 high school athletes have receive waivers to play on the team that aligns with their gender identity, according to the Arizona Interscholastic Association.
“I will not stop fighting for women. I will not stop standing for women. I will not stop speaking for women. Especially my daughters, who wanted to win,” House Speaker Rusty Bowers said in explaining his support for the bill.
It’s adults who are hung up on the gender of kids playing sports, said Democratic Rep. Cesar Chavez.
“This is not a problem for these kids,” Chavez said. “Yet it’s a problem for these individuals who feel like they’re losing their antiquated political system.”
Arizona Republicans pass two bills targeting transgender youth rights
The Arizona House passed the bill not long after it also approved a strict ban on abortions in the state.
Demonstrators protest near the Supreme Court as the Court hears oral arguments in three cases on LGBTQ discrimination protections in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019. Arizona Republicans Thursday passed two bills targeting transgender youth rights.
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
March 25 (UPI) -- Republican Arizona lawmakers have passed two bills targeting the rights of transgender youth. The bills are headed to Gov. Doug Ducey's desk.
Without a single Democratic vote, the Arizona House Thursday passed two state Senate bills.
SB 1165 bars anyone born a male from participating in female sports, whether or not she is fully transitioned.
Republican supporters of that bill said it recognizes that males are inherently stronger than females.
March 25 (UPI) -- Republican Arizona lawmakers have passed two bills targeting the rights of transgender youth. The bills are headed to Gov. Doug Ducey's desk.
Without a single Democratic vote, the Arizona House Thursday passed two state Senate bills.
SB 1165 bars anyone born a male from participating in female sports, whether or not she is fully transitioned.
Republican supporters of that bill said it recognizes that males are inherently stronger than females.
RELATED Indiana Gov. Holcomb vetos bill to ban transgender student athletes from girls' sports
SB 1138 bans "irreversible gender reassignment surgery" for anyone under 18, even with consent of parents.
That bill also targets medical professionals involved in gender reassignment surgery for people under 18.
"Any referral of gender transition procedures to an individual who is under eighteen years of age is unprofessional conduct and is subject to discipline by the appropriate licensing entity or health professional regulatory board," the legislation said.
SB 1138 bans "irreversible gender reassignment surgery" for anyone under 18, even with consent of parents.
That bill also targets medical professionals involved in gender reassignment surgery for people under 18.
"Any referral of gender transition procedures to an individual who is under eighteen years of age is unprofessional conduct and is subject to discipline by the appropriate licensing entity or health professional regulatory board," the legislation said.
RELATED ACLU sues to block Texas from investigating parents of transgender children
The SB 1138 bill said, "It is of grave concern to the legislature that the medical community, despite the lack of studies showing that the benefits of such extreme interventions outweigh the risks, is allowing individuals who experience distress at identifying with their biological sex to be subjects of irreversible and drastic non-genital gender reassignment surgery and irreversible, permanently sterilizing genital gender reassignment surgery, which may actually increase the risk of suicide."
The Arizona ACLU urged Arizona Gov. Ducey to veto the bills targeting transgendered youth.
"Arizona has unfortunately joined the long list of states that have made bullying and discriminating against trans students a priority this legislative session," ACLU of Arizona policy director Darrell Hill said in a statement. "Gov. Ducey should follow in the footsteps of the Republican governors in Utah and Indiana and veto legislation that harms the health and well-being of transgender youth."
RELATED Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to veto last-minute bill banning transgender school athletes
Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox vetoed a bill that would have prohibited transgendered student athletes from participating in girl's sports.
Gov. Cox cited figures indicating 86% of all transgendered youth have considered suicide. He said he said he wants them to live.
In Indiana, GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed a similar bill.
Earlier on Thursday, the Arizona House also passed a bill banning abortions after 15 weeks and sent it to Ducey's desk, where he's expected to sign it. The state's House and Senate both narrowly passed the bill strictly along party lines.
Last April, Ducey signed into law a sweeping anti-abortion bill that criminalized abortions performed due to genetic issues of the fetus.
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