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Critics, including parents of athletes, expressed outrage Friday after Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's administration quietly shut down a rulemaking process that would have required school sports to be divided by sex.
The move to end protections for scholastic sports based on sex is the latest development in the debate over whether biological males who identify as transgender should compete in girl's sports.
"My jaw dropped when I saw the news," former Del. Kim Taylor, R-Petersburg, told Fox News Digital on Friday. "As a mom of a daughter, I’m furious that protecting the privacy, safety, and opportunities of Virginia’s girls has somehow become controversial."
"Governor Spanberger had a chance to stand up for women and girls, and instead she turned her back. Our daughters should never be asked to sacrifice their privacy or a fair playing field for someone else’s political agenda."
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Taylor focused on maternal and children’s issues during her time in Richmond and was the target of an assassination threat during her unsuccessful re-election bid last year.
Del. Wren Williams, R-Stuart, called the move "classic Spanberger."
"Say one thing, do another, don’t tell anyone, and ignore them if they ask about it," he told Fox News Digital.
Former Ball State basketball player and Indiana state Rep. Michelle Davis added that Spanberger appears to be "taking Virginia backwards."
"Women’s sports exist for women, and protecting a fair playing field shouldn’t be controversial," said Davis, R-Whiteland.
"Democrats talk constantly about empowering women, yet we continue to see Democratic leaders roll back protections for female athletes. Virginia’s girls deserve better."
Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger and a representative for Youngkin for comment.
Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin started the process of barring biological males from girls' scholastic sports, but the process, which was expected to take years, was ended by his successor, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
"[We] did not proceed with the proposed regulation," Virginia Health Commissioner Cameron Webb told the Richmond Times-Dispatch of his agency and the governor’s office.
The rule, supported by the separate Virginia Board of Health during the Youngkin era, would have prevented "biological males from participating in organized female-only athletic teams and competitions in Virginia, and to prevent biological males from using designated female spaces where females are likely to be in any state of undress."
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The decision was made in late July but did not surface until this week. Spanberger did not issue a press release or announcement on it in the interim.
Meanwhile, the Youngkin-appointed chairwoman of the State Board of Health told the Times-Dispatch she had no idea the process was ending.
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"Our hearts go out to everybody involved, the athletes on all sides of it," Nelson told the paper.
Williams added that the case shows "Democrats continue to fall all over themselves to openly discriminate against our female athletes," as several states continue debating whether to separate transgender students in athletics.
Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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