‘Your Right to Care Is Not Affected By This Decision’: Blue State AGs Push Back Against Anti-trans Ruling
US Supreme Court called state law that bans transgender healthcare constitutional
A number of Democratic attorneys general in blue states across the country are not only condemning, but pushing back against, a decision by the US Supreme Court to affirm state laws banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth.
State attorneys general in California to Maryland, and Massachusetts to New York and more have come out against the high court’s ruling Wednesday that backs Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
The decision represents a stunning setback for transgender rights, which have come under fierce attack from Republican-led red states as well as Donald Trump himself.
Some 26 other states have laws similar to Tennessee’s.
Blue-state attorneys general not only denounced the decision as dangerous and discriminatory, but emphasized that puberty blockers and other appropriate gender-affirming treatments remain legal and available in their states.
There are about 300,000 people between the ages of 13 and 17 and 1.3 million adults who identify as transgender in the United States, according to the Williams Institute, a think tank that researches sexual orientation and gender identity demographics.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta last year filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to reverse the judgment, arguing that a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex and transgender status and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court, however, held that Tennessee’s law does not discriminate on the basis of sex or transgender status, but rather differentiates based on age (barring care for minors but not adults) and medical treatment (barring treatment for certain conditions but not others).
In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor criticized that logic and reasoned that the majority “retreat[ed] from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most.”
“All Americans regardless of their gender identity have the inalienable right to equal protection under the law. This includes the right to access healthcare free from discrimination,” Bonta said Wednesday in a statement following the decision.
“Across the nation, we’ve seen a rise in hate-fueled violence and intimidation against our LGBTQ+ community, and laws such as Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1 only serve to exacerbate these conditions by blatantly discriminating against transgender youth and denying them access to critical life-saving care,” Bonta added. “In California, we will continue to promote and protect access to healthcare, not restrict it. My office and I remain committed to safeguarding and upholding the healthcare rights and freedoms for all individuals, including our transgender youth.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James sounded a similar, defiant theme.
“At a time when LGBTQ+ communities are under relentless attack, this decision is dangerous and a profound disappointment. Gender-affirming care is essential and lifesaving health care, and denying young people access to it will have devastating consequences,” she said in a statement.
“Let me be clear: gender-affirming care remains legal and protected in New York, including for young people,” James added. “To the transgender community in Tennessee and across the country: We stand proudly with you. We are strongest together, and we will not let this decision weaken our resolve to build a safer, more just, inclusive, and compassionate nation for all.”
State leaders have declared Maryland as a sanctuary state for transgender individuals, and state Attorney General Anthony Brown’s statement about the Supreme Court’s ruling reflected that.
“The US Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-transition care for minors is a deeply upsetting ruling that prevents transgender children from accessing care essential to their wellbeing,” Brown said in a statement. “The science and research are clear: medical care for transgender youth is essential and can save the lives of children who too often suffer from anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.
“To transgender Marylanders and their families who are upset and scared by this ruling: know that you are protected by Maryland law and your right to care is not affected by this decision. I stand with you, you matter, and you are an invaluable part of our communities across Maryland,” he added.
A copy of the Supreme Court’s decision in the case, United States v. Skrmetti, can be found here.
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