Chair Pocan Calls on Supreme Court to Protect Trans Rights
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus released the following statement ahead of the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments in US v. Skrmetti, a challenge brought against Tennessee’s ban on medically necessary healthcare for young transgender people: “Tennessee’s law is part of a cruel, coordinated attack on the trans community by extremist politicians who are desperate to distract from their inability to deliver solutions to the real problems facing their constituents,” said Rep. Mark Pocan, Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “The Justices must uphold the Constitution’s promise of equal protection and strike down this discriminatory law. Decisions about healthcare belong to the patients, their doctors, and their families—not politicians.”
BACKGROUND The brief highlights the role that animosity has played in legislation banning medically necessary care for transgender youth and urges the court to strike down Tennessee’s ban. The full amicus brief can be read here.
BACKGROUND ON HEALTHCARE FOR TRANSGENDER PEOPLE Every major medical and mental health association in the U.S., representing more than 1.3 million U.S. doctors, supports providing this medically necessary, evidence-based care for transgender people. This includes the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Endocrine Society, among other organizations. |