December 3, 2024

ALTERNATIVE SEX & GENDER

Christian Science Monitor -  At the U.S. Supreme Court this week, issues of child welfare, gender identity, and constitutional rights will converge in one of the most significant cases the court will decide this term. Transgender issues have been at the heart of America’s culture wars in recent years. Legally, lawsuits concerning transgender rights have been percolating in the lower courts. On Wednesday one of those cases – which asks whether the state or parents are responsible for protecting vulnerable children – will be argued before the high court.

Transgender issues are relatively novel for the courts, and the justices have issued few rulings directly affecting them. The decision in United States v. Skrmetti – a complex, emotional lawsuit pertaining to medical care for transgender youth – has the potential to be a seismic one.

Who should decide the best way to protect vulnerable children – their parents, or the state? That question lies at the heart of the biggest transgender rights case in U.S. Supreme Court history.

Transgender Americans have existed for generations, but as their visibility in society – and their rights under the law – have grown in recent years, so has pushback. Hundreds of anti-trans bills, such as legislation restricting bathroom usage and banning the discussion of gender identity in schools, have been enacted in 2024 alone, as states react to perceived threats to equality of the sexes and a rise in youth identifying as transgender.

CNN -  Chase Strangio, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, is poised to become the first known transgender person to argue before the US Supreme Court. He’ll do so as part of the most high-profile dispute on the docket this session.

No comments: