Pennsylvania House Democrats withdrew consideration of a resolution honoring March as "National Women's Month" after a Republican lawmaker filed an amendment to include the physiological definition of "woman" in the text.
House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Southwest Philadelphia, was bringing a rapid-fire succession of bills up for consideration late in Tuesday's session when she asked the clerk to introduce House Resolution 390. The bill, from state Rep. Carol Hill-Evans, D-York, recognized March as Women’s History Month in Pennsylvania.
What the Left Is Saying
Democrats did not directly respond to questions about why they chose to table the resolution rather than allow a vote on the amendment. Fox News Digital reached out to McClinton and her office for comment but did not receive a response.
The resolution was described by Hill-Evans as celebrating "the extraordinary accomplishments of women," which "too often go unacknowledged." The resolution was part of a slate of legislation recognizing women's contributions in the state.
The exchange echoed a viral moment from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearing, when Sen. Marsha Blackburn pressed her to define "what is a woman," a question that became a flashpoint in broader debates over gender and policy.
What the Right Is Saying
State Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-Ellwood City, defended his amendment as a common sense measure. "It defines what a woman actually is — because we do know what that is," he said on the House floor.
In an interview, Bernstine said defining a woman as having X-X chromosomes shouldn't be controversial. "Then what happened was the speaker withdrew the resolution… because we would have had people vote on defining what a woman actually is," he said. "So they pulled it because they were scared to define what a woman actually is."
Jason Gottesman, spokesman for the House Republican Caucus, told Fox News Digital that "if Democrats want to celebrate what they refuse to define, it is clear they do not take this issue seriously."
Bernstine added that the resolution can still be resurrected: "We'll see if Democrats can actually step up and define what a woman is. They're going to consistently put females in a spot that they have throughout recent times."
What the Numbers Show
The Pennsylvania House has a 102-100 Democrat-majority. The resolution was temporarily over and can potentially be resurrected in future legislative sessions.
House Resolution 390 would have recognized March as Women's History Month in Pennsylvania. The resolution was pulled before any vote could occur on the floor.
The amendment proposed by Bernstine would have added a physiological definition of woman to the resolution text. The specific language was not read into the record before the resolution was tabled.
The Bottom Line
The withdrawal of the Women's History Month resolution represents a floor confrontation over how gender is defined in state legislation. Democrats control the chamber but chose not to allow a vote on the Republican amendment.
The resolution can potentially be revived in future sessions. Republicans have indicated they will continue to press the definition question on similar legislation.
The moment reflects ongoing national debates over gender definitions that have surfaced in confirmation hearings, court cases, and state legislatures across the country.