FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A ban on gender-positive care for transgender youth in Tennessee has been lifted, at least for now, after a federal appeals court temporarily overturned a lower court ruling on Saturday. may come into effect.
Last month, a Tennessee district judge ruled that a new law banning transgender treatments such as hormone-blocking drugs and surgery for transgender youth was unconstitutional because of gender-based discrimination. .the judge stopped wide-ranging law from entry into force.
But on Saturday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati granted Tennessee’s emergency appeal. In a two-to-one ruling, the majority said decisions on emerging policy issues, such as transgender care, should generally be left to the legislature rather than judges.
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Chief Justice Jeffrey Sutton, appointed by former President George W. Bush, said, “Considering the high stakes in early-stage policy deliberations on the long-term health of children facing gender dysphoria, a healthy government is usually a good choice. would benefit more rather than less controversy.”
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Scumetti praised the ruling and said the ban is fully enforceable. “The lawsuit is not over yet, but this is a big win,” he said in a statement.
This ruling is provisional and will be valid only until the Court of Appeal has fully considered the appeal. Sutton wrote that the appeals process would be expedited, with the goal of resolving the case by Sept. 30.
Tennessee is one of at least 20 states in the nation that have recently enacted bans or restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors.federal judge Indiana and Kentucky Judges have blocked these laws from coming into force, Arkansas broke the law of the state.
Judge Sutton conceded that other judges had ruled differently.
“We appreciate their perspective and they let us stop,” he wrote. “But they do not dispel our suspicions.”
Judge Amr Tapah, appointed by former President Donald Trump, also joined Mr. White’s ruling. A third judge, Helen White, partly dissented and partly agreed.
White, first nominated by former President Bill Clinton and later nominated by President Bush, ruled that he believed the Tennessee law was likely unconstitutional, but like a district court, he ruled on his own. said it did not intend to apply it statewide. She said the ruling would limit it to apply only to the nine plaintiffs who filed lawsuits and to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where some of the plaintiffs sought treatment.
“In particular, given the district court’s hard factual findings regarding the benefits of these treatments for transgender youth, the state’s refusal to use hormone therapy for the treatment of minor plaintiffs’ gender dysphoria and other I don’t understand how it can be justified to allow access to ,” White wrote.
American Civil Liberties Union spokeswoman Gillian Brunstetter said the Sixth Circuit was the first federal circuit to authorize a ban on transgender medical care for minors. The 6th Circuit covers Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky.
The ACLU, its Tennessee chapter, and two law firms called Saturday’s ruling “a heartbreaking development beyond disappointment.”
“As we and our clients consider next steps, we urge all transgender youth in Tennessee to know that this battle is not over yet, and to challenge this law until it is lost forever. We want you to know that we will continue,” the joint statement said.
The federal government also filed its own appeal Subject to Tennessee law.
The law is intended to allow health care providers in the state to express to transgender youth “a gender identity that contradicts the immutable characteristics of the reproductive system that define minors as male or female.” and prohibits the provision of hormone therapy or surgery. ”
Tennessee’s Republican-dominated legislature and some Democrats passed the law. Vanderbilt University Medical Center Indicted I opened a transgender clinic because I made a profit. A video was released touting the doctors there’s gender-affirming procedure as a “huge money maker”. Another video showed an employee telling people who were against religion to quit.
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Associated Press reporter Jonathan Mathis contributed to this report from Nashville, Tennessee.
