BREAKING: GLAAD STATEMENT ON SUPREME COURT TAKING UP HISTORIC TRANSGENDER HEALTH CARE CASE

(New York, NY – Monday, June 24, 2024) – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to the news today that the U.S. Supreme Court will take up a historic case on health care for transgender Americans. Oral arguments will be scheduled for its next term, which begins in the fall.

GLAAD’s President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis (she/her) issued the following statement:
“The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to consider the question of transgender Americans’ ability to be treated with dignity and respect will be a significant reflection of the values our nation stands for. Sweeping categorical exclusions on mainstream consensus health care for any group of Americans are discriminatory, as many federal courts have already affirmed, including in Florida earlier this month. Transgender people already face disproportionately high levels of discrimination and harassment seeking health care and in their everyday lives, which are exacerbated for Black, Indigenous, and other transgender people of color, low-income transgender people, those struggling with housing insecurity or homelessness, and those living in rural areas with few options for care. It is imperative that reporters and voters understand the stakes here –  access to health care should be available to all who need it, not based on the bias of some state legislatures against their own LGBTQ citizens. It is urgent that the Court see all citizens as worthy of life and liberty, values all Americans support. ”

Background on previous decisions upholding transgender health care:

• Earlier this month, a Florida district court ruled that Florida’s ban on health care for transgender youth and restrictions against transgender adults seeking health care are unconstitutional and based on “anti-transgender animus,” and can no longer be enforced. Florida was the first state to push for restrictions on health care for transgender adults.
• In late April of this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed two lower court rulings ordering North Carolina and West Virginia to end discriminatory exclusions of health care for transgender people in both states under insurance coverage.
• In June 2023, Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban was struck down. U.S. District Judge Jay Moody issued a permanent injunction against the Arkansas law, which would have prohibited doctors from providing medical care for transgender youth. Moody ruled that the ban violated the due process and equal protection rights of transgender youth and families, as well as First Amendment rights of medical providers. Moody’s ruling followed other federal court decisions temporarily blocking similar bans in Alabama and Indiana.
• Health care for transgender youth and adults is supported by every leading medical association and health authority in the world including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychiatric Association, The Endocrine Society, and The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. A comprehensive list of statements can be found here.

In fall 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a ruling upholding bans on health care for transgender youth in Tennessee and Kentucky. (Non-transgender youth are still able to access similar health care for any other reason.) The ruling by the 6th Circuit is at odds with federal courts in at least seven other states that have found such bans to be unconstitutional.