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require that birth certificates reflect biological sex.

South Dakota's Department of Health currently allows birth certificates to be amended to reflect a person's gender identity when a court orders it, but this bill would prohibit that practice by requiring birth certificates to only show biological sex as determined at birth. The bill prevents courts from issuing orders to change the sex designation on birth certificates based on a person's gender identity, effectively blocking one of the legal mechanisms currently used to update this information.

promote continued fairness in women's sports.

HB1217 adds legislative findings to South Dakota law stating that biological sex is determined at fertilization and that males and females have measurable biological differences, particularly in secondary sex characteristics developed during puberty. While the bill text excerpt provided doesn't show the complete amendment to the existing sports law (§35-4-10.2), these findings appear to establish the legal rationale for regulating women's sports participation based on biological sex.