Washington (AP) On Thursday, the Supreme Court consented to hear a case concerning state limitations on the sports teams that transgender children can participate in.
The justices said they will revisit lower court decisions in favor of transgender athletes in West Virginia and Idaho, only two weeks after maintaining a prohibition on gender-affirming care for transgender youngsters. In the fall, the case will be argued.
Republicans have used the national debate over transgender girls’ participation on girls’ sports teams as a platform to push for women’s and girls’ athletic equality at both the state and federal levels.
More than two dozen states have passed legislation prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing in specific sports. Courts have banned some policies.
State and school rules that have let transgender athletes to compete openly have been the subject of lawsuits and investigations by the Trump administration at the federal level. As part of the settlement of a federal civil rights action, the University of Pennsylvania this week apologized to female athletes who were harmed by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas’s participation on the women’s swimming team and changed three school records she set.
Separately, a Republican attempt to enact a nationwide ban was thwarted in March by Senate Democrats.
The removal of transgender troops from military duty is only one of the forceful actions taken by Republican President Donald Trump in other areas regarding transgender individuals. The Supreme Court overturned lower courts’ rulings that had prevented the removal of transgender service personnel in May.
Arecent Pollby According to a survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, over 70% of American citizens believe that transgender female athletes shouldn’t be permitted to play high school, collegiate, or professional women’s sports. Approximately half of Democrats and nine out of ten Republicans held such opinion.
West Virginia is contesting a lower court decision that determined the restriction infringes on the rights of Becky Pepper-Jackson, who has been openly identifying as a girl since the third grade and has been taking medication that blocks puberty. When she was in middle school, Pepper-Jackson filed a lawsuit against the state because she wanted to be a member of the track and cross country teams.
Pepper-Jackson placed third in the discus throw and ninth in the shot put in the Class AAA division this past academic year, earning a spot at the West Virginia girls high school state track championship.
The equal protection provision of the Constitution and the historic federal legislation known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education, were the two grounds on which the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Pepper-Jackson.
Today is fantastic because it will give West Virginia’s female athletes a platform. According to a statement from the state attorney general, John McCuskey, “We passed this commonsense law preserving women’s sports for women because the people of West Virginia know that it’s unfair to let male athletes compete against women.”
Pepper-Jackson’s attorneys, who had urged the court to dismiss the appeal, stated that they are prepared to defend the decisions made by the lower courts.
School athletic programs should be open to all students, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, just like any other educational program. Joshua Block of the American Civil Liberties Union stated in a statement that trans children participate in sports for the same reasons as their peers: to have fun with their friends and to learn endurance, devotion, and collaboration. Pepper-Jackson is also being represented by Lambda Legal, an organization that supports LGBTQ rights.
In 2020, Idaho became the first state in the country to prohibit transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports teams that are supported by public institutions, universities, and schools.
Lindsay Hecox wanted to run for Boise State University, so the ACLU and the women’s rights organization Legal Voice filed a lawsuit against Idaho on her behalf. An athlete from the Boise region who is not transgender also joined the complaint, citing concerns that if someone disputes her gender, the law may require her to endure intrusive tests to confirm her biological sex.
After lower courts blocked the state’s prohibition while the litigation was pending, the state requested review from the Supreme Court.
A third Arizona case that presents the same problem was not taken up by the court.
Extra News Alerts
Receive breaking news as it happens.
