U.S. bishops respond to Senate’s failure to pass women’s sports bill

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 6, 2025 / 16:50 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Catholic bishops reiterated their support on Thursday for a bill to protect women’s sports after the measure failed to pass the Senate in a procedural vote this week.

In a statement released by the bishops’ conference, Bishop Robert Barron and Bishop David O’Connell called the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act “commonsense legislation that would ensure fairness for female athletes.”

The proposed legislation, which passed the House in January, would have prevented federally funded sports programs under Title IX from allowing male students to compete or participate in women’s and girls’ athletic programs.

Although a majority of senators backed the legislation on a 51-45 vote, the proposal received no support from Democrats and failed to reach the necessary three-fifths supermajority.

In a joint statement, the bishops said: “The teaching of the Catholic Church calls us to advocate for the equal dignity of men and women, recognizing that God created us male and female. This legislation would ensure a level playing field for women and girls to compete in fairness and safety with other females.”

“An ideological promotion of personal identity, detached from biological reality, undermines human dignity and the role sports play in true educational formation.”

Barron and O’Connell, who chair the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, and Committee on Catholic Education, respectively, stated their full support of the legislation in a January letter sent to Senators urging them to vote for the bill.

After the failed vote the bishops said: “We reiterate our long-standing support for this act and encourage female student athletes nationwide to continue to strive to uphold fairness and equality in athletic competitions.”