Kentucky Senate Bill 83 (SB 83), also known as the Save Women's Sports Act or Fairness in Women's Sports Act, is a 2022 law in the state of Kentucky that prohibits transgender women from competing in women's sports. It was vetoed by Governor Andy Beshear on April 6, 2022, but was overridden on April 13, 2022. It became law on July 14, 2022.
The bill specifically targets transgender women and girls. Senate Bill 83 allows anybody regardless of sex or gender to compete in male or coed sports, but prohibits those assigned male at birth from competing in girls' sports. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association already had regulations on transgender athlete competition prior to Senate Bill 83, requiring a certain amount of time on hormone replacement therapy prior to being allowed to compete. Only one transgender girl, Fischer Wells, is known to have been competing in girls' sports in Kentucky at the time SB 83 passed.
Senate Bill 83 prohibits anybody assigned male at birth from competing in girls' sports. It applies to both K-12 schools and colleges in Kentucky. It specifically determines eligibility based on birth certificates.
Riley Gaines, a professional swimmer, supported Senate Bill 83 when it was under debate, stating that there were biological differences between those assigned male or female at birth that could not be ignored.
The Human Rights Campaign and the ACLU of Kentucky opposed SB 83.