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.
What was expected to be a quick, symbolic vote instead turned into a brief but telling floor moment, with Republicans forcing the question into the open and Democrats opting to shelve the resolution rather than define “woman” in legislation — leading to an eruption of laughter on the House floor.
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. Hill-Evans wrote in her presentation of the bill that it “celebrat[es] the extraordinary accomplishments of women,” which “too often go unacknowledged.”
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“Will the House agree to the resolution?” McClinton asked the 102-100 Democrat-majority chamber.
The clerk indicated that state Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-Ellwood City, had an amendment to offer, and McClinton recognized him to introduce it.
“Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this amendment is very straightforward and clear,” Bernstine announced.
“It defines what a woman actually is — because we do know what that is. Thank you,” he said.
Audio in the House chamber briefly paused as movement could be seen on the leadership’s dais.
“The resolution is temporarily over,” McClinton announced after several seconds, sparking loud laughter from the chamber.
McClinton soon turned to the clerk to read the next piece of legislation, “The Fairness Act” from DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta, a state representative from North Philadelphia, and moved on with the day’s schedule.
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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.
In an interview Wednesday, Bernstine defended his amendment as a common sense measure, saying that defining a woman as having XX 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.”
As the resolution was formally considered “temporarily over,” it 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.”
Jason Gottesman, spokesman for the House Republican Caucus, further 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.”
Fox News Digital reached out to McClinton and her office for comment but did not receive a response.
