Hawley: ‘Women should not be forced to compete against biological males’

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) stands by his statements at Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and adds that he doesn't think transgender women should participate in women's sports.

Hawley was accused of transphobia by a witness at the Senate hearings on the repercussions of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Berkeley Law Professor Khiara Bridges was called as a witness in the hearings. Hawley started questioning Bridges when she used the phrase, "people with a capacity for pregnancy."

"You've used a phrase, I want to make sure I understand it," Hawley said. "You've referred to 'people with a capacity for pregnancy,' would that be women?"

Bridges fired back, "Many women, cis women, do have the capacity for pregnancy. Many cis women do not have the capacity for pregnancy. There are also trans men who are capable of pregnancy as well as non-binary people who are capable of pregnancy."

Today, Hawley said in an interview with ABC 17 that he believes his stance on trans men being pregnant relates to his stance on trans women participating in women's sports.

"To force biological men into women's sports and to tell women they just have to live with it, they just have to take it and watch that own space of theirs be totally destroyed. I think all of that is nuts, and I think you saw that on display yesterday," Hawley said.

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Missouri), who Hawley endorses in her Senate run, created a political ad attacking a trans female athlete and the NCAA for allowing her to participate in women's swimming competitions.

Several conservative state lawmakers tried to push bills banning trans women from Missouri high school and collegiate women's sports this year, but none passed.

"I think that women should not be forced to compete against biological males," Hawley said. "It will be the destruction of women's sports at all levels."

During the interview, Hawley also addressed the new record inflation of 9.1%. Hawley blames the Biden administration policies for inflation.

"He came into office and shut down American energy production, shut down oil, shut down drilling, shut down pipelines," Hawley said. "It's outrageous."

Aaron Hedlund, an economics professor at the University of Missouri, blames overstimulation of the economy and difficulty finding workers for the inflation, which he said can be traced back to spring 2021.

"The most eventful thing that occurred there was that was the passage of the $1.9 trillion American rescue plan, which is basically the most recent stimulus bill," Hedlund said. "We've just had a really tough time getting people to go back to work for a number of reasons COVID fears, we can point to stimulus for that as well. So if you think about less supply, more demand, you're gonna get higher prices."

The Missouri Democratic Party and Bridges have not responded to ABC 17's request for comment.