Another state law banning gender-affirming care for minors is being challenged in court, this time in Texas. Five transgender children and their families sued that state this week over a law that would bar transgender care for them and other minors. At least 20 states have adopted measures to keep minors from getting puberty blockers, hormone therapies or gender-affirming surgery. Nearly all have faced lawsuits challenging them. Most courts that have ruled on them so far have put the laws on hold. North Carolina lawmakers are expected to override a governor’s veto of the ban there soon. Courts are also considering other restrictions on transgender people’s rights, including a Kansas law banning changes to the sex listed on driver’s licenses.
WISCONSIN SCHOOL’S BATHROOM POLICY HALTED
A federal judge ruled last week that a Wisconsin school district cannot enforce for now a requirement that transgender students use bathrooms and locker rooms that match the sex they were assigned at birth. The challenge to the policy was filed anonymously by an 11-year-old transgender student and her mother. The case is not over yet, but the judge indicated that the student’s claims would likely prevail in a trial, so the district must stop enforcing its rule while it’s decided. The judge cited a similar Wisconsin case from six years ago that blocked bathroom restrictions. At least two federal appeals courts have also ruled in favor of transgender students in at least two bathroom cases in recent years. These legal battles all concern school district policy, but at least nine states are currently enforcing restrictions on which bathrooms transgender students can use.
