The US supreme court heard one of the most consequential LGBTQ+ rights cases in its history on Wednesday, with arguments that laid bare the conservative supermajority’s broad threats to civil rights, bodily autonomy and decades of legal precedent.
In US v Skrmetti, the court is weighing Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth, one of 24 state laws across the US prohibiting treatments that are part of the standards of care endorsed by every major medical association in the country.
The case originated with three trans youth and their parents who sued Tennessee, arguing the care – puberty blockers and hormone therapy – was medically necessary and “life-saving”. The Biden administration joined the case, asserting Tennessee’s law was unconstitutional.
The case hinges on the legal question of whether Tennessee’s healthcare ban constitutes a form of sex discrimination that merits “heightened scrutiny”, which would mean the case be returned to lower courts for a more rigorous review. But the oral arguments made clear that a ruling against the trans plaintiffs could have far-reaching implications for trans rights and anti-discrimination protections more broadly.’
The US and the […]
This case is about a much larger trend: Legislators practicing medicine without a license. If you believe that lawmakers have the right to dictate medical treatment then you can’t have it both ways, supporting those efforts at interference in the private decisions between a physician and patient that you like, and condemning those interferences you don’t like. The Supreme Court has decided that legislators can do this. Why would be surprised that these cases are now being brought? This is just the tip of the iceberg for Democrats and Republicans who are both obsessed with exercising power over different parts of the population.