Pam Kohlmeier, Kristine Coons and Nancy Street: Do not sign IL26-638

By Pam Kohlmeier, Kristine Coons and Nancy Street

Paid workers are gathering signatures for Initiative IL26-638. They say it will “Protect Fairness in Girls’ Sports,” but this initiative would actually harm some of the most vulnerable kids in our community. These children simply want to belong, play with friends, and feel safe – just like every other child. Kids deserve understanding and support, not exclusion.

Wanting to protect children is a commitment we all share. Sadly, many people who sign this initiative are led to believe they are helping girls. Instead, IL26-638 targets youth with sex or gender nuances who already face bullying, loneliness, and rejection.

Facts matter because real children are born with natural sex and gender differences.

For generations, doctors assigned a baby’s sex by taking a quick look at the outside of the body. They did the best they could with what they knew, but the practice of medicine has evolved to recognize that the outside does not always match what is happening inside. While males typically possess XY chromosomes and females possess XX chromosomes, our biological sex develops with thousands of interacting genes and hormonal influences. In total, over 13,000 genes exhibit sex-biased expression in the body, contributing to the more than 60 clinically recognized natural variations in sex development.

About 1 in 60 people are born with a natural variation in sex development – about as common as having red hair. These children deserve respect, not rules that erase their identities. Science shows that sex and gender are far more complex than a quick lesson from any textbook.

There is no single “gender center” in the brain. With 86 billion neurons, the brain has many networks that help shape identity. Hormones and several brain areas, like the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, play a role, too. Because of this, it is normal for a person’s inner sense of who they are – their gender identity – to vary.

If we truly care about the safety of children, we must face the biggest danger transgender girls face: suicide. Many transgender youth feel alone or scared because of bullying, rejection, or hurtful laws. No child should ever feel that their life is worth less. The CDC reports that 26% of transgender high school students attempted suicide last year, and 47% seriously thought about it. But when these young people feel supported, these numbers drop sharply. Kindness saves lives.

In 2023, a study in Nature Human Behaviour found that state laws targeting transgender people caused suicide attempts to rise the next year – by as much as 72%. Each suicide injures many. On average, 135 people are directly affected, and at least 11 people suffer long-term grief. Families and communities have been carrying this pain for years.

Spokane will observe Transgender Day of Remembrance from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday at the downtown Central Library. Everyone is welcome. It is a time to honor transgender people who have died and to support the families and friends who miss them dearly.

Women’s sports do have real challenges – but transgender athletes are not the cause. Across the country, men still have about 60,000 more college sports opportunities than women. And transgender women make up only 0.008% of NCAA female athletes. These young women are not the problem, inequities are. IL26-638 distracts from the real issues: unequal funding, fewer opportunities, and barriers that girls and women still face in sports.

If we truly believe in fairness, we should work on real solutions that help all children succeed. We should focus on equal funding, better access, and more opportunities – not on blaming or excluding youth who are already struggling.

Spokane is a community that cares for one another. Every child deserves kindness. That is what fairness really looks like.

Please say NO to IL26-638.

Dr. Pam Kohlmeier, MD, JD, FACEP, of Spokane, is a health policy advocate, attorney, and retired emergency physician. Dr. Kristine Coons, DO, FACOI, of Spokane, is an internal medicine physician and intersex researcher working with several national organizations and universities. Nancy Street, Ph.D., of Cheney, is a retired psychology instructor at SFCC.