Maria Caspani

(Reuters] – Arizona passed and Oklahoma approved Thursday’s bills that prohibit transgender teens from participating in girl’s sports. It is just the latest piece of legislation by Republicans to address the issue.

Arizona lawmakers also passed the Republican-sponsored “Save Women’s Sports Act”, which would ban doctors from offering gender-affirming surgery for minors. These bills, which are also Republican in nature, will be sent to Governor Doug Ducey.

The vote was largely split along party lines.

Kelli Butler, a Democratic Representative from Arizona said that bullying children wanting to participate in sport was a bad idea. “This isn’t the country I know and am proud to call home.”

On Thursday, the Oklahoma Legislature passed a bill titled “Save Women’s Sports Act”.

The bans were imposed to prevent transgender athletes being unfairly disadvantaged in sports, according to supporters. The bans’ opponents, which include advocates for transgender persons and organizations such as the Women’s Sports Foundation say they are discriminatory. They advocate inclusion for transgender students in school-based sports.

Arizona’s third bill also passed. It would ban abortions within 15 weeks. Physicians could be subject to fines as high as $10,000, suspension, or revocation, depending on whether they are found guilty.

In Texas, Alabama and Mississippi, governors have signed bills banning transgender girls competing in girl’s sports.

The governors of Indiana and Utah vetoed similar bills this week. This signals the unwillingness of Republican leaders to join the party which sees these issues as a winning strategy for attracting voters in advance of the U.S. Midterm Elections.

Republican lawmakers from both states stated this week that they intended to override Governors’ Vetoes. Leaders from the Utah Legislature announced that they would meet Friday in a session to override governors’ vetoes.