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The ruling was cheered by some feminists who have campaigned to safeguard rights for women on the basis of biological sex. Trans rights campaigners were disappointed, and worry about the ruling’s implications for transgender women.Women’s rights activists celebrate outside the Supreme Court to challenge gender recognition laws, in London, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Women’s rights activists celebrate outside the Supreme Court to challenge gender recognition laws, in London, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)The court was asked to determine the definition of a woman under Britain’s 2010 Equality Act, which sets out protections against discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, race, religion and other traits.The case stems from a 2018 law passed by the Scottish Parliament calling for 50-50 balance of men and women on the boards of Scottish public bodies. Its definition of women included trans women whose gender is legally affirmed with a Gender Recognition Certificate.

A feminist group, For Women Scotland, challenged that in court, saying the Scottish government had overstepped its powers by effectively redefining the meaning of “woman.”The group lost a ruling in a Scottish court in 2022 but was later granted permission to take its case to the Supreme Court, which held hearings in November.

Marion Calder, center, and Susan Smith, left, from For Women Scotland, celebrate outside after the U.K. Supreme Court ruled that a woman is someone born biologically female, excluding transgender people from the legal definition in a long-running dispute between the feminist group and the Scottish government, in London Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Marion Calder, center, and Susan Smith, left, from For Women Scotland, celebrate outside after the U.K. Supreme Court ruled that a woman is someone born biologically female, excluding transgender people from the legal definition in a long-running dispute between the feminist group and the Scottish government, in London Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)But the top Republican in state government, House Speaker Lisa Demuth, of Cold Spring, backed Trump’s position.

“It’s extremely disappointing that Attorney General Ellison would rather risk federal funding and file yet another taxpayer-funded lawsuit against the Trump administration than simply do the right thing and keep boys out of girls sports,” Demuth said in a statement. “It’s a waste of taxpayer money to further a political agenda that makes girls less safe and makes sports less fair.”Ellison was joined at his news conference by parents of transgender children and human rights activists, incuding state Rep. Leigh Finke of St. Paul, Minnesota’s first openly transgender legislator. Addressing Trump and his supporters, Finke said LGBTQ+ people have always existed in every culture throughout history.

“No law, no policy, no hate-fueled campaign will ever change that. So I’m asking you to just please stop trying,” Finke said. “To those of you in that world who still are capable of hearing from those of us outside of it, understand this: All that we ask is to be left in peace, to live and love and without fear.”Dr. Kelsey Leonardsmith, who treats transgender children from several states at the Family Tree Clinic in Minneapolis, and is a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said transgender girls and women are already underrepresented in sports and make up just a tiny percentage of student athletes. She disputed the contention of critics that allowing them to participate in girls sports gives them unfair advantages and puts other girls in physical danger.