A large group of female athletes and 26 states petitioned the Supreme Court this week, telling the justices to take up a challenge over state laws that ban transgender women from competing against biological female athletes.

In a filing Wednesday, female athletes, coaches and parents numbering 102 told the justices that physical fitness tests demonstrate that there is a difference between men and women at every age. They urged the justices to take up legal battles over laws out of Idaho and West Virginia that protect female sports by banning transgender athletes from competing against women. 

Idaho and West Virginia have asked the justices to weigh the cases, as their laws were challenged by transgender athletes claiming the legislation runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. 

“A growing number of women and girls have been facing the humiliating and damaging experience of being forced to compete against males who identify as transgender in the women’s sports category,” the athletes’ filing read. 

“It is hard to express the pain, humiliation, frustration and shame women experience when they are forced to compete against males in sport. It is public shaming and suffering, an exclusion from women’s own category.”

Twenty-six states have also filed on behalf of Idaho — and West Virginia, which also petitioned the justices over its state law — saying they have similar legislation to protect women’s sports and need clarity from the high court.

“Basing the distinction on biology rather than gender identity makes sense because it is the differences in biology — not gender identity — that call for separate teams in the first place: Whatever their gender identity, biological males are, on average, stronger and faster than biological females. If those average physical differences did not matter, there would be no need to segregate sports teams at all,” the states’ brief read.

The filing came from Alabama, Florida, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming and Virginia. 

In July, Idaho and West Virginia asked the justices to take up their case when the high court returns from summer recess in October for the new term.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled against West Virginia’s law that would require biological boys to compete on male or co-ed teams. A transgender female student challenged the law, and the 4th Circuit sided with the transgender student.

Meanwhile, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction, halting Idaho from enforcing its Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which bases sports participation on biological sex.

Similar to the West Virginia law, a transgender female student wishing to run track at Boise State University challenged the law as running afoul of the 14th Amendment.

It would take four justices to vote in favor of hearing the disputes, B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education and Hecox v. Little.

• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.