(NewsNation) — Three recent court cases highlight the nation’s legal battles over gender and sexuality in school, eliciting mixed reactions from the public.
Judges have blocked Ohio from banning gender-affirming care and overturned West Virginia’s ban on transgender girls in sports, while the Supreme Court ruled Idaho’s gender-affirming care ban can be enforced as the case goes through the court system.
While some are celebrating restrictions placed on the medical treatment trans children can receive and which sports they can participate in, others worry about young people being denied access to gender-affirming care and treatment.
Ohio
An Ohio judge blocked enforcement of a law that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors and prevented transgender girls from participating in girls’ school sports.
The law would have taken effect on April 24, but the judge’s ruling halted enforcement for the next two weeks, according to the Associated Press. In his written opinion, Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook said the law may violate a requirement dictating state laws can only address one issue, the AP reported.
“The sun is shining, the court ruled in our favor and trans youth live to be able to access gender-affirming care for another day,” Mallory Golski with Kaleidoscope Youth Center (KYC) said in a statement published by ABC affiliate News 5 Cleveland.
Idaho
Idaho will be allowed to enforce a ban against providing puberty blockers and hormones, according to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that came down Monday. The restrictions also extend to gender-affirming surgery for minors, according to the AP. Such surgeries are rare in people younger than 18.
The two transgender teenagers who filed the original suit will not be subject to the ban.
Republican Attorney General Raúl Labrador supported the decision, saying in a statement published by CNN that he’s “proud to defend Idaho’s law that ensures children are not subjected to these life-altering drugs and procedures.”
However, the ruling was criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union and Supreme Court Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor.
West Virginia
A judicial panel in the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the state’s ban against transgender girls competing in sports violates the rights of a teen athlete who challenged the rule, according to the AP.
As a result, the 13-year-old student may continue participating in her school’s cross-country and track and field teams.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey issued a statement saying the ban will remain in place for other students. It’s unclear how the ruling could impact other student-athletes in the future. Morrisey said he was “deeply disappointed” in the decision, while the girl’s attorney called it a “victory” that underscores “the freedom of all youth to play as who they are.”
“It also continues a string of federal courts ruling against bans on the participation of transgender athletes and in favor of their equal participation as the gender they know themselves to be,” American Civil Liberties Union attorney Joshua Block said in a statement.
