While pursuing the conservative agenda, Arizona Governor, Doug Ducey, signed multiple bills that may put a wrench in rights that many have been fighting for. Happening on March 30, people may suspect a “political battleground.” 

Ducey signs bills that will outlaw abortions after 15 weeks, the abortion legislation mirrors a Mississippi law that is now being considered in a higher court. Governor Ducey is known to be an abortion opponent; he is known to have signed every piece of anti-abortion legislation that has touched his desk. Ducey states that he hopes the Supreme Court overturns the Roe v. Wade decision.

The Chair of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, Chris Love, called the ban a series of unrelated attacks on women’s rights. 

The bill also will outlaw gender confirmation surgery for anyone under 18. On top of that, if a physician is found in compliance, they will be fined up to $10,000 as well as a suspension or revocation of their license. Finally, the bill will block transgender women from playing on women’s sports teams. 

The specific bill on sports was named the “Save Women’s Sports Act.” Many speculate on why only transgender women are targeted. Democratic Representative Kelli Butler had an emotional speech stating that he does not want to legislate bullying against children who simply want to play a sport. Obviously, when there are issues as major as these, people pick a side where their ideologies align. 

A big scare within this bill is the issue of transphobia; a study from “Seven in ten transgender people will face transphobia,” a study from stonewall.org.uk states. On top of that, they are not allowing trans minors to get gender-affirming surgeries, such as top and bottom surgery. 

“I think for people who are trans, it can be really detrimental to their mental health because it can make them feel unaccepted by their family, who is supposed to be the most loving. That definitely makes it harder for them to come out and be who they truly are. I think for non-trans people, a lot of them take after their parents, especially as adolescents, and so they hear what their parents say and they start acting in the same manner. Very few teens will stray away from their parents’ beliefs and this makes for very biased people with one-sided beliefs,” Madison Fessides (12) said. 

Supporters of the ban on transgender women being able to play in women’s sports want to ensure that the sports are a fair playing field, and opponents of the ban say that the bill is discriminatory towards transgender women. People are pushing for children to be able to play any sports they decide. 

Many other states, including Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Iowa, have all signed this bill that banned transgender girls from competing in sports. 

This bill will surely depict the future for many, rather this is negatively or positively.