WASHINGTON - The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives voted Thursday to bar transgender athletes from joining women’s school and university sports teams, hoping to expand similar state-level bans to the entire United States.

The “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act” will likely not be taken up by the Senate, where Democrats have a majority, and the White House has said in any case that President Joe Biden would veto it.

But the move highlights Republicans’ increasing interest in pushing through controversial education-related bans that in their view will “protect” youth.

“We must protect the integrity of women’s sports,” said the bill’s sponsor, Republican Greg Steube of Florida.

Railing against a “perversion in our culture by the enemy,” Steube argued that for millennia “we have recognised as a species that there are women, and there are men who are obviously biologically different.”

His bill prohibits schools that receive federal funding – practically all in the United States – from allowing anyone “whose sex is male to participate in an athletic programme or activity that is designated for women or girls,” and only recognises a person’s “reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

This hot-button issue has crystallised around the case of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who was born male and competed as a man before winning a college championship against women.

In addition to restrictions on school athletics, several Republican-led states in recent months have also passed bans on minors receiving gender-transition treatments.

Like those measures, the bill passed Thursday with only Republican votes sparked outrage from Democrats, who argued that it would further marginalise people who are already disproportionately the target of harassment.

“Don’t believe for a minute that this is about protecting women and girls,” said Representative Pramila Jayapal.

“This bill fuels a virulent hate campaign against kids who just want to play with their friends,” added the progressive Democrat from Washington state.

‘Dire consequences’

She warned that the bill was an “attack on transgender children” that also has “dire consequences.”

Over half of transgender youth have had suicidal thoughts in their lifetime and 31 per cent have made at least one suicide attempt, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

They are also more prone to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, risky behavior and self-harm than the rest of the teenage population.

Global sporting bodies have begun to make decisions on the issue, with the World Athletics association opting in late March to bar transgender athletes who had gone through male puberty from competing in female world ranking competitions.

The Biden administration has sought to find a compromise on the issue, proposing a federal rule in early April that would prevent schools from implementing outright bans, allowing some limits on transgender athletes’ participation in competitions.

Under the proposal, a school might, for example have difficulty keeping a transgender student from playing in an elementary school sports match meant to emphasise teamwork, but could potentially ban such athletes from competitive high school matches. AFP