By Christopher Mallard
In his July 23 letter to the editor, former 172nd Legislative District candidate Aizaz Gill urged Rep. Sean Dougherty to “stand up for women” by supporting PA Senate Bill 9 — a bill he proclaimed is a “straightforward, commonsense measure to protect girls’ and women’s sports.”
Currently, PIAA policy on the issue is, “where a student’s sex is questioned or uncertain, the decision of the school as to the student’s sex will be accepted by PIAA.” This policy, a policy that regards the opinions of educators over politicians hundreds of miles away, seems to be more than straightforward and commonsense enough. So why is Mr. Gill so enthusiastic about wresting control away from qualified experts?
Perhaps it is because the Republican Party, his party, seems wholly uninterested in doing anything to “stand up for women” beyond stoking culture war click bait. Here are just a few ways that Mr. Gill could support policies that actually serve the women of the Keystone State.
Fund SEPTA
The American Hospital Association notes that transportation is the third-leading cause of missed medical appointments in the U.S. Furthermore, analysis by Deloitte found that women are twice as likely as men to miss medical appointments due to transportation issues. Currently SEPTA funding remains a political hostage in the Republican-controlled state Senate. If Mr. Gill truly wanted to stand up for women, he would urge his colleagues to cease the political gamesmanship that is needlessly increasing the distance between women and access to vital healthcare resources.
Identify Ways to Fund Medicaid and Protect Enrollees
In July, President Trump signed into law HB 1, otherwise known as the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Aside from a massive transfer of wealth to billionaires, the governor’s office estimated that 310,000 residents would lose Medicaid access, 200,000 would lose access to the state’s healthcare marketplace and 140,000 would lose SNAP benefits. If Mr. Gill truly wanted to stand up for women, he could advance statewide policies to protect the countless women and children who will be forced to make hard decisions about when to see a doctor or worry about how to feed their families.
Ultimately, transgender individuals make up about 1% of the population. In fact, it was NCAA President Charlie Baker who reported in January of this year that there are less than 10 athletes across the entire NCAA who identify as transgender.
But this is what the Republican Party is all about these days — inflaming divisions, increasing inequity and creating imaginary enemies, all while ignoring the very real threats women face. ••
Christopher Mallard lives in Torresdale and works in the healthcare industry.
