Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley says President Joe Biden's executive order for transgender participation in sports is an "attack on women's rights."
Biden's order, signed Jan. 21, says "children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports" and calls for equal treatment "regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation."
Haley, in an opinion piece for the National Review, suggested Biden's order would pave the way for a federal mandate "that all schools receiving federal funding let biological men play on women's sports teams."
"The order was framed as a matter of transgender rights. But really, it was an attack on women's rights," she added.
The White House, in a statement to USA Today, said the order does not tie an education institution's federal funding to allowing biological male athletes access to women's sports teams and scholarships, just that it mandates all students, including transgender students, be able to learn without facing sex discrimination, and as part of that, transgender women should compete on female teams, according to the statement.
Haley says transgender kids "deserve support and respect," but "biological boys and girls are built differently."
"Justice and equality are on the line, and common sense is just as important as compassion," she wrote. "Women haven't run this race only to find we never had a chance to win."
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