Several state legislatures and government officials have spent a nauseatingly large amount of time attacking transgender Americans via legislation. Now it seems that the cavalry, so to speak, may be arriving.
Albeit slowly.
First let's look at Missouri. Earlier this month, state attorney general Andrew Bailey released an emergency order which would effectively ban gender-affirming care for all trans people in the state. The order was to take effect on Thursday.
Not anymore, at least temporarily.
From KMBC News:
A Missouri judge on Wednesday temporarily halted a first-of-its-kind rule restricting access to gender-affirming health care for transgender kids and adults, just hours before it was set to take effect. St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo put Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s emergency rule on transgender health care on hold until at least Monday.
Bailey has touted the rule as a way to shield minors from what he describes as experimental medical treatments, though puberty blockers and sex hormones have been prescribed for decades. The restrictions also apply to health care for adults. Transgender Missourians and health care providers sued to stop it from taking effect as scheduled Thursday. They argued that Bailey sidestepped the GOP-led Legislature and acted beyond his authority in attempting to regulate gender-affirming health care under the state’s consumer-protection laws.
On Monday, the court will rule on a temporary restraining order against Bailey's rule. I have my fingers crossed here but so far it doesn't look good for Bailey. We will see what happens.
And there is also news from Tennessee. The Justice Department is stepping in to challenge that state's anti-trans law.
According to WSMV4:
The Department of Justice has filed a complaint challenging Tennessee’s recently enacted law banning transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming care. The DOJ says its complaint alleges that the law’s ban on proving certain medically necessary care to trans youth violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
Along with the complaint, the DOJ says they’re asking the court to issue an immediate order to prevent the law from going into effect on July 1, 2023. The DOJ says SB 1 makes it unlawful to provide or offer certain types of medical care for trans youth with diagnosed gender dysphoria. “SB 1′s blanket ban prohibits potential treatment options that have been recommended by major medical associations for consideration in limited circumstances in accordance with established and comprehensive guidelines and standards of care,” the DOJ said in a press release.
“By denying only transgender youth access to these forms of medically necessary care while allowing non-transgender minors access to the same or similar procedures, SB 1 discriminates against transgender youth. The department’s complaint alleges that SB 1 violates the Equal Protection Clause by discriminating on the basis of both sex and transgender status. Doctors, parents and anyone else who provides or offers to provide the prohibited care faces the possibility of civil suits for 30 years and other sanctions.”
