Kansas Lawmakers ‘Stand Ready’ for Showdown Over Women’s Bill of Rights Veto

The Kansas capital building is seen in Topeka, Kansas, on Nov. 8, 2022. Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images

Kansas lawmakers are gearing up for a potential showdown after Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, vetoed a “Women’s Bill of Rights.”

The Women’s Bill of Rights, which had received bipartisan support, aims to protect the rights of women by defining “sex” based on biology and enshrining common definitions of “woman,” “girl,” and “mother” into law.

Kansas state Republican House Speaker Dan Hawkins has vowed to “stand ready” to override the veto and push the bill into law. He expressed concern in a statement that the veto would compromise the safety of female-only spaces such as restrooms, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, and prisons.

“With the veto of the Women’s Bill of Rights, Governor Kelly has chosen to side with left-wing activists who seek to change the definition of a woman and ignore the biological differences that exist between the sexes,” Hawkins said in a statement.

He argued that ignoring the biological differences between males and females would expose females to specific forms of violence, including sexual violence. Hawkins also suggested the safety of other types of single-sex spaces may also be compromised, such as restrooms, domestic violence shelters, and rape crisis centers.

“House Republicans believe biological females in Kansas deserve privacy, safety, and dignity in single-sex spaces and are dedicated to ensuring the current laws that have historically protected that right can continue to do so,” he added.

Women’s Bill of Rights

The Women’s Bill of Rights (pdf) was drafted as model legislation by the Women’s Liberation Front and Independent Women’s Voice and passed the Kansas legislature with 83 votes, one vote shy of a veto-proof majority.

The bill also requires vital statistic collection for anti-discrimination and public health and safety purposes.

The bill asserts that males and females possess unique and immutable biological differences that manifest prior to birth and increase as they age and experience puberty. It argues that only females are able to get pregnant, give birth, and breastfeed children, while males are generally bigger, stronger, and faster than females.

The bill also highlights the historical discrimination faced by females in education, athletics, and employment.

The bill’s supporters affirm that for purposes of state and federal law, a person’s “sex” should be defined as his or her biological sex at birth, and that “female” should refer to an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova. Meanwhile, “male” should refer to an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female.

The bill argues that there are legitimate reasons to distinguish between the sexes with respect to athletics, prisons or other detention facilities, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, locker rooms, restrooms, and other areas where biology, safety, and/or privacy are implicated.

The Kansas Women’s Bill of Rights highlights the need for clarity in defining terms related to sex and gender and argues that such definitions should be based on biological differences.

Despite the governor’s veto, Republicans have indicated their commitment to ensuring the bill becomes law, with a veto override vote scheduled to begin the week of April 24.