A bill defining male and female based on biological sex is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) for final approval after the Texas Senate passed the legislation early Wednesday morning. 

The state Senate passed House Bill 229, dubbed the Women’s Bill of Rights, on a 20-11 party-line vote after the House passed the bill earlier this month on an 87-56 vote. HB 229 was authored by Republican state Rep. Ellen Troxclair and carried by GOP state Sen. Mayes Middleton, who has argued the bill was necessary to ensure Texas is “grounded in biological reality.” HB 229 seeks to protect women’s right to equal opportunity and female spaces by enshrining a clear definition of male and female into state statute.