Courts

Supreme Court's Awful Dobbs Decision About To Unleash More Terrible On Transgender People

It's going to get real bad, real quick.

By  
on

Transgender flag waving in blue cloudy sky, 3D renderingIf you’re anything like me, you spent your so-called Independence Day contemplating the recent distinct curtailing of your freedoms. Overturning — or even limiting — Roe was always going to cause a cavalcade of awful. But the YOLO Court (TM Leah Litman) went full scorched earth in their decision in Dobbs, casting aspersions on… anything not “deeply rooted in this nation’s history and tradition.”

And, wouldn’t you know it, those chickens have already come home to roost.

As some of the most vulnerable in our society, transgender Americans have long been subjected to just a misery of discriminatory behavior. But now that Dobbs is on the book, Alabama is using that to make it worse.

In a recent filing, the Alabama attorney general is asking a federal appeals court to lift the injunction the district court placed barring the state’s ability to ban gender transition treatments for youths. In the court document, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall argues such treatments are not “deeply rooted in our history or traditions,” echoing the language of Dobbs.

Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, told AP that to his knowledge, this was the first time Dobbs was cited for a non-abortion issue, but “It won’t be the last.” Which is especially true as Clarence Thomas’s solo concurrence in the case explicitly called out contraception, marriage equality, same-sex relationships, and all substantive due process rights as ripe for reconsideration.

“It is no surprise that Alabama and other extremely conservative states are going to take up that invitation as forcefully as they can,” Minter said. “Justice Thomas’ concurrence was a declaration of war on groups already under attack, and we expect the hostility to be escalated.”

Transgender folks once again find themselves in the role of proverbial canary in the coal mine. Unfortunately, I’m not optimistic.

Sponsored

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

Sponsored

Topics

, , , ,