- Joining us now with a closer look

at the impact of this bill,

CBN News Senior NationalAffairs Correspondent,

Heather Sells, and Angela Morabito,

of course, a spokespersonin higher education fellow

and campus reform.

Ladies, thank you for being here.

Heather, to you first.

I know you've been following this effort

to pass the Equality Act for some time.

It was a forgone conclusionthat it would pass in the house.

It's already passed before, asAbby mentioned in her report.

Heather, what do you anticipate though,

when it comes to the senate?

- Right, and that's the big question now,

because of the make up of the senate.

It does need 60 votesto pass in the senate

to avoid a filibuster, John,

and right now, what we're seeing

is that there's notRepublican support for it.

You're seeing moderate Republicans

like Mitt Romney andSusan Collins backing off.

So you know, that's the question,

is it going to get anactual debate in the senate,

or is it merely gonna be introduced

and then democrats can use it

as a wedge election issue coming up?

- Angela, to you, critics site concern

for women and girls with this legislation.

How could this bill affect them?

- This bills has the potential

to devastate women's sports.

I mean, we want everyone to play the game,

but we want everyone to play fairly,

quite literally on a level playing field,

and if you look at the science here,

there was a study recently

in the British Journal of Sports Medicine

that says transgender womenare still bigger, faster,

and stronger than biological females,

even after a year on hormones.

And the effects here are immeasurable,

but if we were to try to measure it,

in terms of scholarship opportunities,

the NCAA grants about $2 millionof scholarships every year,

and for the average athlete,

their scholarship isabout $18,000 annually.

So this could literallycost high school athletes

quite a bit.

- Well we are talking aboutthat, Angela, in the abstract.

Do you have any specific examples

where it actually hasplayed out in reality,

or is playing out hurting women in sports?

- Absolutely, well as you mentioned,

the cases in Connecticut,there are three female athletes

who are suing the Athletic Conference

and their municipalities,

because two transgendered women

actually won 15 state leveltrack and field titles

in I believe about a year or two.

So these three girls who wereat the top of their game,

they had worked virtuallytheir whole lives

to excel in their sport,

they were losing out onscholarship opportunities

to transgender women whowere, like it or not,

competing in biologically male bodies.

- Heather, Republicans are advancing

what's called the Fairness For All Act.

It's an alternative to the equality act.

Heather, is there any wayto address both civil rights

for LGBTQ Americans,

while also still respectingreligious freedom?

- Right, I think what'sinteresting about Fairness For All

is it is perhaps a modelfor going forward, John,

and we don't have thatwith the Equality Act.

Fairness For All is givingLGBT American civil rights,

but it is also providingreligious liberty protection.

A lot of Conservatives say

it's not providing enoughreligious liberty protection,

but it could be a template, ifyou will, for going forward.

- Heather, a real quickquestion and follow-up for you.

We've seen the businesscommunity really rallying

behind this bill, Apple for example,

how much pressure do you think

that they're gonna put onRepublicans in the senate

because of their close relationship

with the business community?

- I don't know, I don't think this country

is ready right now to passsuch a landmark LGBTQ bill.

I think there needs to be amore sophisticated conversation

about religious liberty, soI think it's going to happen,

but I don't think it's gonnahappen this go around, John.

- All right, HeatherSells, and Angela Morabito.

Thank you so much for being with us,

extending more informationon this important topic.