Senator Judy Ward, a Pennsylvania state legislator, has publicly reiterated her support for Senate Bill 9, also known as the Save Women’s Sports Act. In a series of posts on July 24 and July 25, 2025, Ward emphasized her position on the bill and expressed concerns regarding recent developments in women’s sports.
On July 24, Senator Ward stated: “As the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 9, the Save Women’s Sports Act, I’m proud to be ‘an extremist’!”
The following day, she addressed changes to Title IX protections: “Today we are sadly seeing the landmark protections that Title IX initially provided to women being eroded by politicians, as men claiming to be women unfairly compete in women’s sports.” She further commented: “The physiological advantages that men possess are clear and unquestionable, and the inclusion of men in women’s sports has come at the expense of opportunity for so many women.”
Senate Bill 9 seeks to restrict participation in female sports teams at public schools and universities in Pennsylvania to individuals assigned female at birth. The bill is part of a broader national debate over transgender athletes’ participation in school sports. Proponents argue it protects fair competition for cisgender girls and women, while critics contend such measures discriminate against transgender youth.
Title IX is a federal civil rights law enacted in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or education program receiving federal funding. Recent policy debates have focused on how Title IX applies to transgender students’ participation in athletics.
