Montana hearing draws hours of testimony on bill to define ‘male’ and ‘female’ in state law

Senate Bill 4 37, which would add statutory definitions for terms including “male,” “female,” “man,” “woman,” “mother” and “father,” drew more than an hour of testimony before the House Judiciary Committee and divided witnesses along ideological, medical and legal lines.

Sponsor Sen. Carl Glynn opened the hearing by saying the bill’s purpose is to put “definitions into Montana code,” adding the measure is aimed at ensuring “we won’t conflate those terms in Montana.”

Supporters, including legal and policy advocates, medical professionals and faith-aligned groups, told the committee the bill would provide clear, objective categories for statutory interpretation and protect privacy in places such as locker rooms and women’s sports. Jay Richards of the Heritage Foundation said, “Good definitions of male and female should capture the central concept of biological sex,”…