The Supreme Court ruled against allowing transgender treatments to be provided in Idaho while a lawsuit proceeds.
The Vulnerable Child Protection Act was passed in 2023 and banned treatments including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and corrective surgeries for minors. The law had been blocked by a lower court that said that treatments could continue while the lawsuit continued.
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that the lower court had gone farther than was necessary. The three liberal justices on the court dissented against the ruling.
Rather than end the ban for the entire state, the majority ruling said that treatments could continue for the plaintiffs, two transgender teenagers.
The law says that physicians who provide transgender treatment to anyone under the age of 18 could face the penalty of 10 years in prison.
LGBTQ+ activists like transgender journalist Erin Reed decried the ruling.
“Incredibly devastating ruling out of the Supreme Court for transgender people. The Supreme Court has allowed Idaho’s gender affirming care ban to go back into effect for everyone but the plaintiffs,” responded Reed on social media. “No sugar coating this one, it’s devastating for trans youth nationwide.”
“There’s no good reasoning for this. It’s cruel and vindictive, and it will cause unnecessary harm to trans youth,” replied activist Charlotte Clymer.
“Horrifying court decision banning healthcare for Idahoan trans kids. Children will die from this,” wrote queer trans woman Eli Erlick. “This is why we need to deregulate hormones & have the option to make our own.”
One of the plaintiffs is a 16-year-old transgender girl on puberty blockers while the other is a 17-year-old transgender girl on puberty blockers as well as hormone therapy. Both claim the treatments have improved their mental health while some studies indicate that the harm from transgender therapy far outstrips the reported benefits.
The National Health Service in Britain has announced that transgender treatments will be reconsidered in light of the conclusions found in a 388-page report.
The Supreme Court will take up other appeals against similar transgender laws in Tennessee and Kentucky. 21 states have passed restrictions against transgender treatment for minors, which critics say is dangerous and unproven.
Here’s more about the trans ruling:
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