- The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled on Monday to allow Idaho to implement its ban on gender transition treatments for minors while the state waits for pending lawsuits to proceed. Associated Press (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Passed in April 2023, the Vulnerable Child Protection Act was scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024. However, an Idaho district court issued an injunction after two families with transgender children filed a lawsuit challenging the bill. Independent (LR: 2 CP: 3)
- Justices Gorsuch, Thomas, and Alito deemed the "sweeping relief" offered by the federal court's decision "more burdensome [...] than necessary" to the provision of a decision specific to the case's plaintiffs, who will retain access to gender-affirming medication. supremecourt.gov
- Justices Kavanaugh and Barrett added that it was often necessary for SCOTUS to review the universal injunction based upon to likelihood of the defendant (Idaho) "succeed[ing] on the merits" within its separate legal defense. supremecourt.gov
- Dissenting from the decision, Justices Jackson and Sotomayor claimed that SCOTUS should not have considered the case within the court's "emergency docket," adding: "there are usually good reasons" not to "address every high-profile case percolating in lower courts." SCOTUSblog
- The decision to allow the law to take effect is state-specific based upon the legality of the injunction, rather than designed to set a nationwide precedent on gender-affirming medication. NPR Online News (LR: 3 CP: 5)
Left narrative:
- The Supreme Court's conservative agenda has once again prevailed, now making the provision of necessary care a crime worthy of up to ten years in prison and a $5K fine. By limiting medical access only to the plaintiffs, the court has chosen to ignore the law's constitutional incompatibility, placing thousands of families into crisis and inadvertently risking publicizing the identities of the case's anonymous minors as they continue their treatment.
ADVOCATE.COM
Right narrative:
- This decision is a win for both Idaho Republicans and those who seek to protect children suffering from their mental health and sexual identity nationwide. There is very little scientific evidence that supports giving life-altering treatment to children and, far too often, children are manipulated into making decisions that they will later regret. This ruling will help protect minors from additional trauma and mental distress.
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Nerd narrative:
- There is a 20% chance that an openly LGBTQ person will be elected President of the United States by 2041, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)