Georgia and Iowa have become the latest states to enact anti-trans laws. On Thursday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a bill banning gender-affirming surgeries and hormone replacement therapies for transgender youth under the age of 18. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a similar bill on Wednesday, along with another measure banning trans students from entering school bathrooms or changing rooms that match their gender identities.
This comes as World Athletics, the global governing body for track and field, voted Thursday to ban trans women from elite competitions if they transitioned after puberty. Advocates of the anti-trans policy claim trans women athletes have a physical advantage over cisgender women. But science refutes that. A report published in 2017 in the journal Sports Medicine finds there’s “no direct or consistent research” showing trans athletes have an advantage over others.