The Supreme Court will hear two cases Tuesday that address whether state laws restricting transgender women and girls from participating in sports are constitutional. The first case involves 25-year-old Lindsay Hecox who transitioned from male to female and sued over Idaho’s ban to try out for the women’s track and cross country teams at Boise State University. She did not make either team and is no longer looking to do so, but competed in club-level soccer and running while she studied in Idaho. The second case centers around 15-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson. She has been taking puberty-blocking medication, has identified as a girl since age 8, and was issued a West Virginia birth certificate recognizing her as female. Pepper-Jackson is the only transgender person who has attempted to compete in girls’ sports in West Virginia. The lower courts in both cases ruled in favor of the transgender athletes who challenged the state bans. More than two dozen Republican-led states, including Idaho and West Virginia, have enacted bans on transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s teams. Today, the mainly conservative justices are expected to focus on whether these sports bans violate the Constitution or Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education. A decision in both cases is expected to be released by early summer. In the past year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of state bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth and allowed restrictions on transgender people to be enforced. Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:
The Supreme Court will hear two cases Tuesday that address whether state laws restricting transgender women and girls from participating in sports are constitutional.
The first case involves 25-year-old Lindsay Hecox who transitioned from male to female and sued over Idaho’s ban to try out for the women’s track and cross country teams at Boise State University.
She did not make either team and is no longer looking to do so, but competed in club-level soccer and running while she studied in Idaho.
The second case centers around 15-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson. She has been taking puberty-blocking medication, has identified as a girl since age 8, and was issued a West Virginia birth certificate recognizing her as female.
Pepper-Jackson is the only transgender person who has attempted to compete in girls’ sports in West Virginia.
The lower courts in both cases ruled in favor of the transgender athletes who challenged the state bans.
More than two dozen Republican-led states, including Idaho and West Virginia, have enacted bans on transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s teams.
Today, the mainly conservative justices are expected to focus on whether these sports bans violate the Constitution or Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education.
A decision in both cases is expected to be released by early summer.
In the past year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of state bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth and allowed restrictions on transgender people to be enforced.
Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau: