Trans rights case at US supreme court features doctors previously discredited

[Jessica_Rose]

Revealed: trans rights case at US supreme court features doctors previously discredited by judges

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/revealed-trans-rights-case-at-us-supreme-court-features-doctors-previously-discredited-by-judges/ar-AA1uuSlm?ocid=windirect&cvid=034c36081c1745059c0582fd1be56145&ei=9

Story by Sam Levin (21 Nov 2024)

The doctors have been dismissed by judges across the US as "conspiratorial", "deeply biased", "far off" and deserving "very little weight".

But their testimonies were nonetheless submitted by the state of Tennessee in defense of an anti-trans law the US supreme court will consider in December, in one of the most important cases of the court's session and among the most consequential LGBTQ+ rights cases in its history.

In US v Skrmetti, the court will weigh whether transgender youth have a constitutional right to access healthcare treatments endorsed by every major medical association in the country, who say the care improves patients' mental health and reduces the suicide risks of vulnerable teens. The case originated with three trans youth and their parents who sued Tennessee last year over its ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors, arguing the care was medically necessary and "life-saving".

If the court's conservative supermajority upholds Tennessee's ban, it would, in effect, be siding with doctors who, LGBTQ+ advocates and trans healthcare experts say, have repeatedly peddled misinformation and in some cases, espoused religious doctrine in the name of science. Six doctors who filed expert declarations for Tennessee have a history of advocating against trans healthcare, and five of them have previously been rebuked or discounted by judges due to their backgrounds.