The Supreme Court hears a case about gender-affirming care for trans kids
Doogie Howser: A Transgender Advancing Attorney in the Legal and Cultural Contexts of the Tennessee LGBT Law
I entered the legal profession with fear in my heart. One of my law school professors at Northeastern told our class that we needed to follow traditional gender norms in court. She instructed that women should wear skirts to appear before juries, and after a presentation in class she told me that I was too “soft-spoken” to be seen as an effective male advocate. Outside class, I found my appearance was regularly the subject of mockery. During my internship at the public defender’s office in New York City some court officers and judges asked my supervisors if they could take my kid to work, and they referred to me as Doogie Howser. I was seen as being too boyish to be a woman or man. After interviewing at a job fair, staff members questioned whether I would be taken seriously in court. After graduation, I decided to stay away from the courtroom because I was afraid my gender would be a distraction and that my clients would pay the price.
Nearly two decades ago, when I was in my early 20s, I finally came out as transgender in what felt like a much more accepting world than that of my childhood. Even though I felt more hopeful, there were still many legal and cultural barriers I had to overcome, such as marriage for same-sex couples being banned almost everywhere, and the fear that I would never be seen.
The major center for providing gender-affirming care for teens in Tennessee before the law was passed is now the Commodores University Medical Center. The question was pondered for three days before the center declined to comment.
Tennessee State Sen. Jack Johnson introduced the challenged bill, which bans access to hormones, puberty blockers, and other treatments for trans kids in Tennessee. The law is a good example of the state’s regulatory power.
Strangio says that the language of the statute telegraphs the real purpose of the ban. The statute encourages children to “appreciate their sex” and also forbids treatments that might encourage children to be less interested in sex.
Sen. Johnson: “Supremum Court hears challenge to law banning gender-affirming care for trans kids” (Apr.J. Bursch, Phy. J. Phys. Lett
“You’ve got countries in Western Europe that were far ahead of us in terms of these types of medications,” says Sen. Johnson. “They are pulling back because they’ve had a longer runway, and they’re seeing that the adverse effects of some of these medications far outweigh any benefit that they have.”
John Bursch of the conservative Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom echoes that sentiment, noting that some Western European and Scandinavian countries have not only been at this longer, they have national health care systems that cover everyone.
The patient can be tracked from birth to death. If someone gets cross sex hormones for the purpose of a gender change at age 15, they can look at how they’re doing at ages 20 to 25 and 65, as well as see what the outcomes were.
European studies have been classified as highly controversial, but they’re still accessible and can be used by minor already using the medications.
There is much about this issue that remains in dispute. To take just one example, parents Samantha and Brian Williams maintain that the law not only bans treatments, it bars parents and children from even consulting doctors about these treatments. The supporters of the law deny that claim. Sen. Johnson says that the intent of the legislature does not prevent or prevent any type of conversation. As long as the doctor was not encouraging a person to engage in illegal procedures, a family could generally discuss puberty blocking and hormone treatment with one another.
Adult patients can still receive care that is gender-affirming. But lawyers for the trans kids argue that if states can ban gender dysphoria treatments for minors, the next step will be to ban such treatments for adults, too.
Source: Supreme Court hears challenge to law banning gender-affirming care for trans kids
How Were You? Lorentzian Physicist Sheryl LW says the process is “slow and slow,” and “it’s like it’s really slow and slow”
People make assumptions. They say it’s just a phase, because they don’t know what it’s like,” LW says of her experience. “It can certainly feel pretty hopeless,” especially given “how slow” the process is.
A transgender attorney in the US said that he has overcome many legal and cultural barriers in court, including marriage for same-sex couples being banned almost everywhere. “Even though I felt more hopeful, there were still many legal and cultural barriers I had to overcome,” Doogie Howser said. Tennessee’s Supreme Court has heard a challenge to the law banning gender-affirming care for trans kids.