I live in Warrenton, Fauquier County and I oppose Action 4905.

The Board of Health has no business labeling groups of people harmful based on who they are. 

There are real public health issues facing women and girls in Virginia, like domestic violence, maternal health, and poverty. Don’t let this hateful petition distract from your important mission to protect the health and promote the well-being of ALL people in Virginia.

Across our races, backgrounds, and genders, we all deserve to be treated fairly. There is a nationwide effort by some politicians and interest groups to force transgender people and LGBTQ+ people out of public life. These political attacks harm us all, whether we’re gay or straight, transgender or not, because they foster discrimination and distract us from the real problems we face. 

The rhetoric surrounding bans on transgender individuals in women’s spaces is frequently framed as a necessary step to "protect women." However, as advocates for women's rights, we must examine where the actual threats to women’s safety and longevity lie.

If the goal is genuinely to save women's lives and ensure their well-being, we must stop allowing legislative energy to be consumed by exclusionary policies that do not address the statistical realities of women’s suffering. Worse, we must recognize that the enforcement of these bans actively endangers the very girls and women they claim to protect.

True advocacy for women requires us to ignore the distraction of culture wars and focus on the following urgent, evidence-based realities:

1. The Paradox of "Protection": Legalizing Abuse

Banning transgender girls and women from facilities or sports creates a dangerous enforcement dilemma: How do you prove who is a woman? The only "solution" offered by these bans is intrusive bodily verification.

• State-Sanctioned Harassment: By mandating that an individual’s sex be proven upon accusation, we are effectively legalizing a system where adults—coaches, officials, or administrators—have the authority to demand invasive medical examinations or genital inspections of children and young adults.

• Empowering Predators: This creates a permissive environment for sexual abuse. It grants access and authority to those who wish to scrutinize girls' bodies, creating a loophole for predators to demand access to private anatomy under the guise of "fairness."

• Universal Risk: This does not just affect transgender youth; it exposes all women and girls to potential trauma. Any girl who appears "too strong," "too fast," or simply doesn't fit a stereotypical standard of femininity can be targeted, accused, and forced to submit to humiliating verification processes to simply exist in public spaces.

2. Addressing the Real Sources of Violence

Arguments for exclusion often cite safety concerns in restrooms or locker rooms, yet this ignores the data regarding where women are statistically most vulnerable. Women are not generally at risk from transgender individuals in public restrooms; they are at risk from cisgender men they already know.

• The Reality: According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 5 women has experienced completed or attempted rape, and approximately 1 in 4 women experience severe intimate partner physical violence.

• The Solution: Protecting women means funding the escape routes from these situations. We must invest heavily in long-term support services, accessible domestic violence shelters, and legal aid for survivors of abuse. We need to focus on the perpetrators of domestic violence—primarily cisgender male partners—rather than policing gender in public accommodations.

3. Confronting the Maternal Mortality Crisis

The most dangerous thing many women will do in their lives is not sharing a restroom, but giving birth. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any high-income nation, a crisis that disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous women.

• Paid Leave is Healthcare: We must mandate a minimum of six months of paid parental leave. Research consistently shows that paid leave significantly lowers rates of maternal re-hospitalization and improves infant health.

• Fourth Trimester Care: We need a federal commitment to maternal healthcare that extends well beyond delivery, including guaranteed access to breastfeeding supplies, lactation support, and mental health services for postpartum depression.

4. Universal Access to Quality Healthcare

Economic inequality is a major barrier to women’s health. Women are more likely to delay or go without necessary healthcare due to cost, leading to preventable chronic conditions and late-stage diagnoses. "Quality, affordable healthcare" means ensuring that contraception, cancer screenings, and preventative care are available to all women, regardless of their employment status or income bracket.

The Bottom Line

Banning transgender women from sports or facilities does not lower the maternal mortality rate. It does not provide a single day of paid leave to a new mother. Instead, it constructs a legal framework that subjects girls to invasive bodily scrutiny.

If we want to protect women, we must stop creating new avenues for abuse and start fighting for the resources—healthcare, safety from domestic violence, and economic equity—that actually keep us alive.

This proposed regulation has nothing to do with the health of Virginians and everything to do with discrimination. No one should face discrimination because of who they are. Trans people have always been here, and always will be. Trans people cannot and will not be erased.