Alabama governor signs bill defining ‘man’ and ‘woman,’ declaring only two genders

Alabama state law now defines “man,” “woman,” and also declares male and female are the only two genders.

Gov. Kay Ivey signed the “What is a Woman Act” into law on Feb. 13. The bill was sponsored by Alabama Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, and Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover. 

“If the Good Lord made you a boy, you’re a boy. And if He made you a girl, you’re a girl,” Ivey stated in a press release. “In Alabama, we believe there are two genders: Male and female. There is nothing complicated or controversial about it. 

“Today, I was proud to officially answer the question ‘What is a Woman?’ with my signature on Senate Bill 79. It did not take a biologist to figure it out.” 

The law defines “sex” as the “state of being male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth,” gives definitions for male, female, man, woman, boy, girl, mother and father.  

It defines gender as either “male” or “female” based on reproductive system functionality. Female is defined as someone “who has, had, will have, or would have, but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces ova.” Male is defined as someone “who has, had, will have, or would have, but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces sperm.” 

The law also defines “woman” as “an adult human of the female sex,” and “man” as “an adult human of the male sex.” 

Opponents claimed the law is discriminatory and aimed at endangering transgender people, not protecting women. 

“It is impossible to erase who someone is and it is anything but common sense to pretend that they do not exist,” said a local ACLU director, A’Niya Robinson, in a statement. “The existence of transgender people is not new, but there is a new and outsized focus on the lives of trans people that is meant to spread fear and anxiety.” 

Ultimately, DuBose says the law was necessary to clarify and codify the meaning of the word “woman” to prevent activist judges and bureaucrats from distorting legislation containing “sex-based” terminology. 

“We have used the word ‘woman’ 149 times in our Alabama laws. When these words were passed, it was assumed that these words were tied to biology,” she said. “This bill clarifies the meaning of sex-based terms in our statutes. It ensures that laws passed by the Legislature are applied as this body intended and not twisted by judges and bureaucrats. 

“In Alabama, we have common sense. We know what a woman is. We know that God created us, man or woman, that our sex is fixed and determined at birth.” 

The law goes into effect on Oct. 1.