A group of 82 conservative lawmakers from state legislatures across the country joined forces with the far-right Christian fundamentalist American Family Association to author a 42-page brief that cites the Bible to advocate for a total ban on gender-affirming care in relation to the Supreme Court case The United States v. Skrmetti.
The brief features many prominent anti-transgender Republican politicians across the country, including Ohio State Rep. Gary Click, Idaho State Sen. Tammy Nichols, Arkansas State Rep. Robin Lundstrum, Nebraska State Rep. Kathleen Kauth, and Texas State Sen. Bob Hall, alongside several dozen other lawmakers.
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The brief begins by criticizing trans advocacy as “identity politics” and instead advocates for a conservative perspective.
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“Petitioners’ identity politics is a vision of public policy fundamentally at odds with the original meaning of the Constitution and the biblical and classical tradition that influenced the Founders [of the U.S.],” it states.
When citing previous authorities for support in their argument, they include multiple sections of the Bible, along with opinions from the Founding Fathers. They also cite the “WPATH Files,” a set of leaked documents that allege the World Professional Association for Transgender Health is politically compromised. These files, however, largely contain information relating to internal policy debates and individual members’ opinions, and do not reveal anything scandalous about the organization.
Admitting a lack of scientific backing for their argument — they refer to leading medical organizations as the “scientific establishment” — the authors instead advocate for “self-control” in regards to “passions” and “impulses,” which they use to suggest that trans youth should be forced to either de-transitioned or prevented from transitioning in the first place. Instead, the brief argues, various adult authorities should practice said “self-control” to stop trans minors from pursuing their gender identity’s expression.
The brief continues with a lengthy argument that no one’s “subjective” sense of self should be used to dictate policy, in spite of this often being the case for public policies protecting self-identified religious people. The brief argues that Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1 (S.B. 1), which bans all gender-affirming care for minors, restricts the care based on age and “mental state,” and is therefore not discriminatory.
The brief does not elaborate on individual arguments nor does it address the fact that the puberty blockers and hormones used in gender-affirming care have been used safely on children for decades to treat early-onset puberty, rare cancers, and other medical conditions.
The brief then argues that overturning S.B. 1 would open a “Pandora’s Box” that leads to other identities — like neurodiversity, weight, or alcohol use disorder — being legally protected from discrimination or government oversight. The brief’s signatories do not mention the Americans with Disabilities Act, which has been used to extend protections to these identity categories.
The signatories further try to dismiss medical authorities by saying that they do not have input ethical guidelines. The brief also falsely claims that there is insufficient medical history to support trans youth transitioning, even though its history goes back hundreds of years.
Throughout this document, many passages reflect back on Christianity and the need to recognize God and the Founders as supreme authorities on legal matters in the United States.
United States v. Skrmetti is a legal case concerning Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1, a sweeping ban on gender-affirming care for minors across the state. Both the District Court and Appeals Court allowed the ban to go into effect, meaning the Supreme Court will be the final authority on the matter. This case is expected to have sweeping effects by determining how gender-affirming care and other types of healthcare, like abortion, are regulated across the United States for years to come.
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