Text of MS HB 1607 (2024)

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE 2024 Regular Session To: Judiciary A By: Representative McLean House Bill 1607 AN ACT TO BE KNOWN AS THE "MISSISSIPPI WOMEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS"; TO DECLARE CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; TO DEFINE VARIOUS TERMS AND DECLARE RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF CERTAIN OTHER TERMS AS THOSE DEFINED AND RESTRICTED TERMS ARE USED IN STATUTES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Women's Bill of Rights." SECTION 2. The Legislature finds: (a) Men and women are legally equal but possess unique and immutable biological difference that manifest before birth and increase as they age and experience puberty. (b) The State of Mississippi has an important interest in preventing unjust sex discrimination and in maintaining safety, privacy and fairness for all Mississippians. (c) Biological differences between the sexes are enduring and, in some circumstances, may warrant the creation of separate social, educational, athletic or other spaces in order to ensure safety or allow members of each sex to succeed and thrive. (d) Inconsistencies in court rulings and policy initiatives regarding sex discrimination and common sex-based words have endangered women's rights and resources and have put the existence of sex-based legal distinctions in jeopardy. SECTION 3. (1) In order to prevent unjust discrimination, maintain safety, protect privacy, and ensure fairness, the following terms have the definitions ascribed in this section: (a) "Woman" means an adult human of the female sex. (b) "Man" means an adult human of the male sex. (c) "Girl" means a human female who is a legal minor as defined in Section 1-3-27 unless otherwise provided by a specific statute. (d) "Boy" means a human male who is a legal minor as defined in Section 1-3-27 unless otherwise provided by a specific statute. (e) "Mother" means a female parent of a child or children. (f) "Father" means a male parent of a child or children. (g) "Female," when this term is used in reference to a natural person, means an individual who has, had, will have through the course of normal development, or would have, but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces ova. (h) "Male," when this term is used in reference to a natural person, means an individual who has, had, will have through the course of normal development, or would have, but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces sperm. (i) "Sex" means a person's biological sex, either male or female, as observed or clinically verified at birth. "Sex" is objective and fixed: there are only two (2) sexes, and every individual is either male or female. "Sex" does not include gender identity or other terms intended to convey a person's subjective sense of self. "Gender identity" and other such subjective terms may not be used as synonyms or substitutes for "sex." (2) Whenever the term "girl" or "boy" is used in a statute in reference to the participation of a high-school-aged individual in a school or extracurricular program, the terms may not be understood to exclude the participation of a student who is a "woman" or "man," respectively. (3) Persons with "DSD conditions," sometimes referred to as "differences in sex development," "disorders of sex development," or "intersex conditions," are not members of a third sex. Persons with a congenital and medically verifiable DSD diagnosis must be accommodated consistent with state and federal law. (4) "Equal" does not necessarily mean "same" or "identical" with respect to the treatment of persons of different sexes because there are objective, immutable and enduring physical differences between males and females. SECTION 4. If any provision of this act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this act and the application of the provisions of such to any person or circumstance is not affected and remains in full force and effect. SECTION 5. Sections 1 through 4 of this act shall be codified as a new article in Chapter 3, Title 1, Mississippi Code of 1972. SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.