Exclusive to the Vanguard
Oakland, CA – The game match on Gender- Confirming Care bans continues, with 21 lawyer generals including California’s Rob Bonta, filing an amnesty opposing a state law in Idaho that blocks the ability of transgender youth to access essential, lifesaving gender- affirming care.
The defendants in Poe v. Labrador, two trans adolescents and their families, sued to stop Idaho’s House Bill ( HB) 71, which criminalizes medical care for transgender minors seeking female- affirming attention.
Idaho filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after a federal district court granted a preliminary injunction against HB 71. The state partnership, led by Attorney General Bonta, filed an amicus brief in favor of the plaintiffs, arguing that Idaho’s ban on gender-affirming treatment is infringes on equal security and emphasizes the significance of gender-affirming care for transgender youth’s well-being.
Attorney General Bonta argued that restricting access to gender-affirming care simply serves to more marginalize vulnerable areas and put their lives in danger. ” In our continuing
We are asking the Ninth Circuit to restate the city court’s decision that overturned Idaho’s ban on gender-affirming care in our efforts to ensure equitable and continuous health care for all. We at the California Department of Justice will continue to protect the right to health care for everyone, regardless of gender identity.
Some trans teenagers experience gender dysphoria as a result of the conflict between their gender identity and the gender that was given birth. Gender anxiety has been found to cause extreme stress and anxiety, depression, stress, decreased social performing, substance abuse, and a poorer quality of life. Among transgender people, suicide attempts are nine times more common than in the overall U. S. population. Even more so, among transgender youth, are those risks higher.
Idaho’s HB 71, which was passed in April 2023, restricts access to medical care for transgender youths, including hormone replacement therapy and puberty-blockers for gender dysphoria. Healthcare providers who violate HB 71 are guilty of a felony and could spend up to ten years in prison.
The coalition supports the court’s request to impose a preliminary injunction on HB 71 in the amicus brief, arguing that the law:
- By refusing to give transgender people medically necessary care that protects their physical, emotional, and psychological health, it seriously harms the health and lives of them.
- is discriminatory and infringes on the United States Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause by allowing cisgender youth medical care while allowing transgender youth medical care.
- fails to acknowledge the beneficial effects of inclusive laws and policies, such as those in California, on transgender people.
In filing the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta was joined by the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
The amicus brief can be found here in a downloadable form.
