Protests outside of the Supreme Court illustrate the growing fears for transgender Americans

The constitutionality of Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1, which prohibits specific medical treatments for children with gender dysphoria, is being debated by the US Supreme Court. Dozens of demonstrators from opposing viewpoints assembled outside the courthouse in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to show support for their cause.

As the justices heard oral arguments for and against Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youngsters, one protester, Ash Orr, a trans activist from West Virginia, took his prescription testosterone outside the Supreme Court.

Orr, 34, stated of his act of protest against the prohibition, “At that time, we were in control, even though our bodily autonomy was being debated inside that building.” As trans people, we were in charge of our bodies, our choices, and what was best for us.

Orr reflected on his younger self and the importance of having access to life-saving care while the court deliberates whether to sustain or reverse the ban. Orr, who says he was closeted as a child, says he has been able to thrive because he has access to gender-affirming care as an adult and is surrounded by an accepting and open environment.

Orr told me that because I felt stuck in my body, I was quite suicidal when I was younger. I made an early attempt at suicide because I lacked the words and tools to express how I was feeling and what help I needed.

And I think I would have had less difficulties if I had had access to this medical care when I was younger. I don’t think people realize that everyone should be able to make the greatest decisions for themselves.

A 15-year-old transgender girl from Nashville and her parents are leading the lawsuit, which was filed by the Department of Justice against Tennessee. The law limits access to gender change treatments, hormone therapy, and puberty blockers. However, it offers the same or comparable medical procedures to minors who are not transgender.

The Nashville family and the Department of Justice contend that Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care discriminates against transgender children in particular, in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

In an online statement regarding the Supreme Court arguments, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti stated that the state has the constitutional authority to regulate the medical profession, protect children, and independently assess the evidence of the risks and benefits of practices that need to be regulated.

Attorney General Skrmetti clarified that our arguments ultimately came down to common sense and constitutional clarity. We cannot sacrifice our right to self-government and our responsibility to protect our children in order to let dogma triumph over scientific evidence.

Some physical characteristics, like the growth of facial and breast hair, as well as changes in voice, are prevented by puberty blockers. Health experts told ABC News that there are minimal to no documented side effects when blockers are removed during puberty.

Depending on their gender identity, teenagers undergoing hormone therapy may take either testosterone or estrogen. Experts say hormone therapy-induced changes in body hair and voice happen gradually and can be partially reversed.

Procedures for individuals under the age of 18 are quite uncommon and are only assessed on an individual basis, according to ABC News.

In dozens of states throughout the nation, Republican-backed legislation has targeted transgender persons, who make up less than 1% of Americans over the age of 13, according to UCLA’s research institute, the Williams Institute.

Numerous prohibitions have been implemented, including prohibitions on gender-affirming care, transgender restroom use, and modifications to gender markers on identification documents.

The LGBTQ legislation tracker Movement Advancement Project reports that at least 24 states presently forbid different types of gender-affirming medical care for children. Procedures for transgender youth are completely prohibited in two additional states.

Gender-affirming care is safe, effective, helpful, and may be medically necessary for some transgender teenagers, according to medical organizations including the American Academy of Paediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and others.

They argue that restrictions on age-appropriate, gender-affirming, individualized care infringe upon a family’s right to consult with their physicians about their health.

Families should wait until their children are older to make decisions like this, according to critics of gender-affirming youth care. Tennessee argued before the Supreme Court that the law shields kids from untested and irreversible gender transformation processes.

According to Skrmetti, the General Assembly of Tennessee established this bipartisan statute that forbids irreversible medical operations after considering the medical data and the evidence-based rulings of European nations that limited these procedures. The plaintiffs in this case are requesting that the Court provide unaccountable judges the authority to govern the profession of medicine instead of the people’s elected representatives.

The state’s first openly transgender representative, Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr, was before the Supreme Court criticizing Tennessee’s ban.

She claimed that standing outside the Supreme Court brought to mind the long history of the struggle for LGBTQ civil rights, ranging from pro-marriage equality marches to the Stonewall Uprisings.

There are times of hardship, like Stonewall, but there are also times when the community pulls together. “You will see LGBTQ people standing arm in arm, smiling, and happy that they stood for and for one another if you look at pictures from the Stonewall Riots the following day,” Zephyr said.

She went on to say that while the people at the rally are aware of the issues involved and the kind of court hearing this case, the folks I observed yesterday were also making room for one another, interacting with other LGBTQ individuals, and enjoying the community.

After urging lawmakers to vote against a gender-affirming care ban for transgender youngsters, which was ultimately passed, Zephyr was reprimanded and barred from the House floor during her first term for urging protesters. She says she recently worked with her state’s Republican lawmakers to fight a state Senate and House prohibition on transgender restrooms.

“Leave trans people alone, let us live our lives, and let our representatives return to trying to make our states better places for all of us,” she argues, arguing that anti-transgender rhetoric and legislation have been used as a distraction from the issues facing regular Americans.

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