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Judge partially blocks Georgia ban on hormone therapy for transgender minors

A federal judge has blocked the state of Georgia from enforcing part of a new law that bans doctors from starting hormone therapy for transgender people under the age of 18. In a ruling issued Sunday, U.S. District Judge Sarah Geraghty granted a preliminary injunction sought by several transgender children, parents and a community organization in a lawsuit challenging the ban. “The imminent risks of irreparable harm to Plaintiffs flowing from the ban — including risks of depression, anxiety, disordered eating, self-harm, and suicidal ideation — outweigh any harm the State will experience from the injunction,” the judge wrote. An email to […]

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Insurers must cover injectable HIV prevention drug — unless courts void mandate

A national health task force’s sterling new endorsement of a long-acting injectable medication for use as HIV prevention will require health insurers to begin covering the pricey drug by 2025. Such expanded access to the preventive therapy could lend a much-needed boost to the country’s relatively anemic efforts to thwart the HIV epidemic. However, the hotly anticipated development in the four-decade fight against HIV is on a legal collision course. A conservative lawsuitadvancing through the courts could void the requirement that insurers cover the HIV-prevention drug, along with dozens of other coverage mandates stemming from the task force’s recommendations. That could have a […]

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Nebraskans Ask State Supreme Court to Overturn Abortion, Trans Care Restrictions

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Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and its medical director, Dr. Sarah Traxler, are appealing the dismissal of their lawsuit challenging a Nebraska law that bans most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy and restricts gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19. They argue that the law violates the Nebraska constitution, which stipulates that any piece of legislation should deal with one subject only. Attorney General Mike Hilgers had countered that the legislation complied with the constitution because the restrictions on abortion and transition procedures both deal with health care. Lancaster County District Court Judge Lori Maret agreed with Hilgers and dismissed the suit August 11. Lancaster […]

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Minneapolis Mass Shooting Leaves Transgender Community Fearful of Further Violence

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The victim killed in a Friday shooting at a punk show in Minnesota has been identified. A gunman opened fire into a backyard venue, killing August Golden and striking six others. Minneapolis police are looking for two people who fled the area. It all happened at an outdoor music show in the backyard and garage of Nudieland, a residential performance space south of Minneapolis shortly after 10 p.m. “We believe one of the persons was being targeted by a shooter,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a press conference on Saturday. “We know two suspects ran from the scene. I can’t confirm there […]

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States that protect transgender health care now try to absorb demand

States that declared themselves refuges for transgender people have essentially issued an invitation: Get your gender-affirming health care here without fearing prosecution at home. Now that bans on such care for minors are taking effect around the country — Texas could be next, depending on the outcome of a court hearing this week — patients and their families are testing clinics’ capacity. Already-long waiting lists are growing, yet there are only so many providers of gender-affirming care and only so many patients they can see in a day. For those refuge states — so far, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, […]

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Court blocks Idaho law restricting trans students’ restroom use

A federal judge temporarily blocked an Idaho law requiring public school students to use the restroom corresponding to their assigned sex at birth, in a lawsuit brought by the family of a transgender middle school student. U.S. District Judge David Nye said his temporary restraining order Thursday did not weigh on the merits of the case, but said that preserving the status quo until he could fully consider it was “the most fitting approach at the current juncture.” “The court’s ruling will be a relief for transgender students in Idaho, who are entitled to basic dignity, safety, and respect at school,” Peter […]

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Biden administration urged to add gender-affirming care to proposed abortion rights protections

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LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, including the Human Rights Campaign and the Trevor Project, are asking the White House to add gender-affirming care to new rules under consideration by the Department of Health and Human Services, strengthening health privacy protections related to abortion. The proposed changes to HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, would bar law enforcement officials from accessing information about abortion across state lines in pursuit of prosecutions in states where the procedure has been drastically limited. Like the right to abortion, access to gender-affirming care for minors has been severely curtailed or legislated out of […]

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Oklahoma Gov. signs executive order defining male & female as sex assigned at birth

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Oklahoma’s Republican governor signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at limiting the rights of transgender people in the state, and trans women in particular. Known as “The Women’s Bill of Rights” by supporters, the order requires state agencies to define the words “female” and “male” based on a person’s sex assigned at birth. Specifically, it defines a female as a “person whose biological reproductive system is designed to produce ova” and a male as a “person whose biological reproductive system is designed to fertilize the ova of a female,” the Associated Press reports. It also defines the words “man,” “boy,” Oklahoma’s […]

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Judge rules in favor of trans students after parents’ rights group sues for the right to misgender

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A federal judge has ruled on the side of trans rights after a conservative group tried to overturn an Ohio school district’s anti-bullying policy.  The national conservative group Parents Defending Education (PDE) tried to get a preliminary injunction passed on the Olentangy Local School District’s prohibition on misgendering trans students. The policy includes students, teachers, and parents and it applies to out-of-school hours and social media as well.  PDE’s lawsuit claimed the policy is unconstitutional because “they compel speech, discriminate based on content and viewpoint, and are unconstitutionally overbroad.”  U.S. District Chief Judge Algenon L. Marbley disagreed, writing in his opinion that “ultimately, […]

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Pediatricians’ group reaffirms support for gender-affirming care amid growing state restrictions

The American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed its support for gender-affirming medical care for transgender children on Thursday, even as the treatments face a growing push for bans and restrictions from Republican lawmakers across the U.S. The board of directors for the group, which represents 67,000 pediatricians, unanimously voted to reaffirm its 2018 position on the treatments. The board also voted to provide additional documents to support pediatricians, including clinical and technical reports, and to conduct an external review of research regarding the care. “The additional recommendations also reflect the fact that the board is concerned about restrictions to accessing evidence-based health care for young people […]

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