Justice Department Challenges Tennessee Ban on Drugs, Surgery for Transgender Youth
Plus: Court sides with journalists sued by LAPD, don't ban private employers from requiring college degrees, and more...
Justice Department says Tennessee's ban on transition treatments for transgender kids violates Equal Protection Clause. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing Tennessee over the state's recently passed ban on certain sorts of medical care for transgender minors.
The broad Tennessee law, Senate Bill 1, makes it illegal for health care providers to perform or administer any treatment to someone under age 18 if the treatment is for the purpose of "enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the immutable characteristics of the reproductive system that define the minor as male or female, as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth (the minor's 'sex')" or "treating purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's sex and asserted identity." That means things like puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors are illegal, in addition to surgical procedures. It's set to take effect on July 1, 2023.
The DOJ called it a law "that denies necessary medical care to children based solely on who they are." It alleges that the law violates the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
"SB 1's blanket ban prohibits potential treatment options that have been recommended by major medical associations for consideration in limited circumstances in accordance with established and comprehensive guidelines and standards of care," stated the DOJ in a press release. "By denying only transgender youth access to these forms of medically necessary care while allowing non-transgender minors access to the same or similar procedures, SB 1 discriminates against transgender youth."
The Justice Department has asked the court to prevent S.B. 1 from taking effect.
The move marks the latest attempt by the Biden administration to thwart state laws banning gender transition drugs and procedures for minors. Last year, the DOJ intervened in a legal challenge to an Alabama law (Senate Bill 184) to this effect. "As a result of that litigation, the most significant provisions of Alabama's Senate Bill 184 have been preliminarily halted from going into effect, and the United States continues to challenge its constitutionality," the DOJ pointed out.
In the latest challenge, the DOJ is intervening in a lawsuit filed by three Tennessee families with teen or preteen children and a Memphis-based doctor, Susan Lacy. They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
FREE MINDS
Court sides with journalists sued by Los Angeles over police photos. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) released the names and pictures of officers—including some who work undercover assignments—to Knock LA journalist Ben Camacho, who gave them to the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition to publish online. The city then claimed this release was "inadvertent" and sued. A judge this week rejected the city's request for a temporary restraining order. More from the Los Angeles Times:
On Tuesday, the attorneys asked the judge to approve the restraining order to stop Camacho and the coalition from "transferring, concealing, removing or otherwise disposing of" the photos and other information. Lawyers for Camacho have filed to have the case dismissed as unconstitutional and retaliatory.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff declined to issue the restraining order and labeled the city's legal brief confusing.
Beckloff said the city was trying to prevent the dissemination or publication of the information, but he told the city's lawyers: "You really don't address the prior restraint issue. You buried the lead." He said the city needed to address the pivotal U.S. Supreme Court case on prior restraint — Nebraska Press Assn. vs. Stuart — and whether the injunction would be effective.
City lawyers insisted they aren't seeking to prevent publication but want to prevent Camacho and the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition from allowing other people to download the photos.
FREE MARKETS
Department of everything good must be mandatory (sigh). Prominent conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation is calling for a ban on employers restricting some jobs to applicants with college degrees.
4/ The @Heritage "Mandate" proposes a full ban on the use of a bachelor's degree as a job requirement. Not for government hiring. Full private-sector ban, including exclusion from algorithmic screening. ???? pic.twitter.com/nN1gXwmsJf
— Oren Cass (@oren_cass) April 26, 2023
Once again, we see folks taking an idea that would be nice for businesses to voluntarily agree to and calling for the government to force businesses to accept it. Typically, this sort of micromanaging of private hiring practices has been a favored tactic of progressives. But the idea of using government to control business these days is loved by "conservative populists" as much as it is by their leftist counterparts.
The real kicker here: The Heritage Foundation lists a college degree among the required components for some job applicants.
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