Two anti-transgender groups sued a state law in Washington, but a federal judge threw out their case. The law is meant to give teens a safe place to stay when they need gender-affirming care or services for sexual health.
The case that International Partners for Ethical Care Inc. and Advocates Protecting Children brought to court on Wednesday was thrown out by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan. The judge said that their claims did not include enough proof of real hurt.
The case was about Senate Bill (SB) 5599, which lets shelters take in homeless or runaway kids and helps them get gender-affirming treatments without telling their parents.
Bryan said that the claimants had not shown how the law directly hurt them or their children, so he dismissed their claims as guesswork and speculation.
The groups and ten parents who did not want to be named said that SB 5599 broke parents’ constitutional rights to decide how to care for and raise their children, as well as their rights to religious freedom, due process, free speech, and equal protection. They said that the rule forced “gender-confused” teens to get help even though their parents didn’t want them to and let the government help with transitions without parental permission.
Washington State, on the other hand, said that the plaintiffs did not have the right to sue because none of them said that their children were seeking gender-affirming care, had run away, or had been affected by the law’s new notice requirements. In the end, this point made Bryan decide to throw out the case.
When SB 5599 was passed into law in 2022, it made it more common for homes not to tell parents or guardians where their children were or what they were doing.
Shelters can now wait to tell parents about teens who are seeking reproductive health care or gender-affirming care if there is a strong reason to do so, like worries about abuse or neglect if the parent is told.
The ruling shows that the legal battles over transgender rights and parental authority are still going on.
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court made history by becoming the first court to weigh in on the controversial issue of gender-affirming care. It ruled that Idaho can uphold its law against giving hormones or puberty blockers to minors. A 6-3 majority voted in favor of letting the law be enforced. This is a big step forward for transgender rights in the legal world.
But it’s important to note that the court didn’t even look into whether or not the ban was valid. Instead, it focused on procedural issues and the limits of its power.
In Ohio, Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook issued a temporary injunction that stopped the law that was going to make it illegal for transgender girls to play sports in school and for children to get care that affirms their gender. The judge’s decision was based on concerns about how well the law followed the rules set by lawmakers and the need for state laws to focus on a single problem instead of combining different measures.
In another important decision, a federal appeals court in Virginia said that West Virginia’s rule that transgender girls can’t play in girls’ sports events violated the rights of one teen athlete. Becky Pepper Jackson, 13, who says she is a girl, can continue to compete on her school’s track and field teams thanks to the decision.
