Media Advisory
January 29, 2024
Contact:
Gillian Branstetter, ACLU, [email protected]
Tom Warnke, Lambda Legal, [email protected]
K Richardson, Transgender Law Center, [email protected]
What:
Tomorrow, legal advocates representing transgender adolescents and their parents and medical providers will urge the Supreme Court of Texas to affirm a lower court’s granting of a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of Senate Bill 14, an unconstitutional medical care ban targeting transgender youth. The oral argument, scheduled for Tuesday, January 30, at 9:00am CT, can be live-streamed here.
Senate Bill 14, which went into effect September 1, 2023, bans necessary and life-saving medical care in Texas for the treatment of gender dysphoria for transgender youth and requires the Texas Medical Board to revoke the medical licenses of physicians who provide the best standard of care to their transgender patients. In July 2023, families and health professionals sued the State of Texas and other state defendants to block Senate Bill 14 from going into effect. In August, Judge Maria Cantú Hexsel of Travis County granted a temporary injunction to pause enforcement of the ban, however, the state defendants appealed directly to the state Supreme Court, and the law went into effect on September 1.
Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, ACLU National, Transgender Law Center, Lambda Legal, and the pro bono law firms of Scott Douglass & McConnico LLP, and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, LLP argue that Senate Bill 14 violates the Texas Constitution by depriving parents of their fundamental right to make medical decisions for their children, discriminating against transgender youth on the basis of sex and transgender status, and violating medical professionals’ right to practice their professions.
The five Texas families with transgender children and teenagers challenging this law come from diverse backgrounds and live across the state. The bill’s passage has resulted in families splitting up or planning to travel out of Texas to continue medically necessary treatments for their children. The families are suing pseudonymously to protect themselves and their children, who are transgender Texans between the ages of 9 and 16.
Plaintiff PFLAG National is the nation’s first and largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them. Plaintiff GLMA is the oldest and largest association of LGBTQ+ and allied health professionals, including those who treat LGBTQ+ patients.
Who:
The following attorneys will be made available for press after the hearing ends:
Paul D. Castillo (he/him), Senior Counsel, Lambda Legal
Lynly Egyes (she/her), Legal Director of Transgender Law Center
When:
The hearing starts Tuesday, January 30, at 9:00 a.m. CT.
Where:
Supreme Court of Texas
Supreme Court Building
201 W. 14th Street, Room 104
Austin, Texas 78701
Resources:
Read a copy of the injunction (PDF)
Any person at risk of being affected by these restrictions should reach out to Lambda legal helpdesk, Aclutx – request legal assistance, or Transgender Law Center – get help.