From the New York Times, published online on November 1st, and in print on November 2, 2023 …
“Transgender youth and their families in Tennessee asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to block the state’s ban on transition care for minors, petitioning the nation’s highest court to intervene for the first time on the issue after a wave of conservative-backed legislation targeting transgender people. The petition comes just over a month after a divided federal appeals panel allowed bans in Tennessee and Kentucky to remain in effect, adding to a complicated legal landscape for transgender children and their families. The bans prohibit minors from receiving transition care including hormone therapy and puberty blockers. Should the Supreme Court agree to hear the case, any ruling would reverberate across the legal challenges in most of the more than 20 states that have passed similar bans.
“’I’m fighting this law because I know how important this care is for tens of thousands of transgender youth like me,’ said L.W., a 15-year-old from Tennessee identified only by her initials in court filings, in a statement provided by the American Civil Liberties Union. ‘It scares me to think about losing the medication that I need.’ Samantha Williams, the teenager’s mother, said she wanted the Supreme Court ‘to see and understand my daughter and recognize her rights under the Constitution like any other person.'”
Let’s hope these bans are all struck down on the grounds that they infringe on our fundamental human rights to control our own bodies … though with this Supreme Court, we’re not hopeful !