INDIANAPOLIS — Today, Independent Women applauds Indiana Governor Mike Braun for issuing two pro-woman executive orders: one to define “male” and “female” terms already used across state law and another to keep women’s sports female only. Governor Braun’s executive orders codify at the state level President Donald Trump’s executive orders to keep men out of women’s sports and define sex-based terms, also following Independent Women’s Stand with Women legislative models.
In his women’s sports executive order, Governor Braun directs Indiana state educational institutions to adhere to Title IX and Indiana state law as written, not as twisted by the previous Biden-Harris administration’s illegal administrative rule to redefine “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity,” forcing schools to allow males identifying as women into women’s sports. This year, a Federal District Court in Kentucky struck down the Biden-Harris Title IX regulation in Tennessee v. Cardona—a ruling that applies nationwide and is now bolstered in Indiana by Governor Braun’s executive order.
Governor Braun’s sex-definition executive order further protects women’s single-sex spaces by fortifying the definitions of male and female terms already used across Indiana law, making clear that female-designated spaces such as rape crisis centers, dormitories, prisons, and sports are for females only.
Governor Mike Braun said, “Indiana will not go along with the always changing idea of ‘gender identity’ that puts women and girls in danger and destroys their opportunities. Instead, Indiana is focused on protecting women and providing all Hoosiers with Freedom and Opportunity.”
Heather Higgins, CEO of Independent Women’s Voice, said, “Governor Braun has been a longstanding champion of common sense policies Americans want, and stands up to special interests that don’t care about harms to others. As such, he’s also a champion for women’s sex-based rights. We thank him for taking immediate action as Governor to ensure the women and girls of Indiana aren’t erased by the Left’s denial of the reality of being a woman. Thank you Governor Braun for implementing these important Executive Orders. We hope the Indiana Legislature takes swift action to codify sex-definitions and protect women’s sports.”
While serving as a United States Senator, Governor Braun was a co-sponsor on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023 (S.613) and co-sponsored the Congressional Review Act (S.J.Res 96) to overturn the Biden-Harris administration’s disastrous re-write of Title IX, earning him an “approved” score on Independent Women’s Voice’s 2024 Riley Gaines Stand with Women Scorecard.
Indiana is now the eleventh state to adopt laws inspired by Independent Women’s Stand with Women model, joining Kansas, Tennessee, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, Alabama, Iowa and soon, Montana, in affecting the lives of over 20 million women and girls.
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Independent Women’s Voice fights for women by expanding support for policy solutions that aren’t just well intended, but actually enhance freedom, opportunities, and well-being.