Latest news with #SAFEAct
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
Appeals court upholds Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for minors
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a 2021 Arkansas law banning gender-affirming care for minors, ruling that parents 'do not have unlimited authority to make medical decisions for their children.' The St. Louis-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit ruled 8-2 that the Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act does not discriminate against transgender people or violate the rights of medical professionals — rejecting a closely watched challenge to the nation's first-of-its-kind ban on gender transition treatment for transgender youth. The SAFE Act also prohibits doctors from referring trans youth to other providers for gender-affirming care, which can include puberty blockers and hormone therapy, among other treatments. Tuesday's ruling follows the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in June, upholding Tennessee's similar ban on gender-affirming care for minors. In the court's majority opinion, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote that Tennessee's ban does not discriminate on the basis of sex and that courts must give elected officials wide latitude to pass legislation when there is scientific and policy debate about the safety of such medical treatments. The 8th Circuit cited the Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti throughout its majority opinion. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin (R) praised the 8th Circuit's decision Tuesday. 'I applaud the court's decision recognizing that Arkansas has a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological health of children and am pleased that children in Arkansas will be protected from risky, experimental procedures with lifelong consequences,' Griffin said in a statement. The American Civil Liberties Association — which brought the original challenge to the 2021 law alongside a doctor who provided gender-affirming care in the state and four transgender youths and their families — slammed the ruling. 'This is a tragically unjust result for transgender Arkansans, their doctors, and their families,' Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, said in a statement Tuesday. 'The state had every opportunity and failed at every turn to prove that this law helps children; in fact, this is a dangerous law that harms children. The law has already had a profound impact on families across Arkansas who all deserve a fundamental right to do what is best for their children.' Griffin and the state's medical board filed the appeal with the 8th Circuit in July 2023, after U.S. District Judge James Moody of the Eastern District of Arkansas blocked them from enforcing the state's ban on medical treatment for transitioning young people. Moody had said the ban violated the rights of transgender people and endangered their health: 'Rather than protecting children or safeguarding medical ethics, the evidence showed that the prohibited medical care improves the mental health and well-being of patients and that, by prohibiting it, the state undermined the interests it claims to be advancing.' The 8th Circuit, sitting en banc, reversed Moody's ruling. 'The minors argue that the Act classifies based on sex in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. They argue that a minor's sex determines whether he or she can receive certain medical treatments,' Judge Duane Benton wrote in the 8th Circuit's majority opinion. 'To the contrary, as the Supreme Court explained about a similar Tennessee law, the Act classifies based only on age and medical procedure.' 'The minors alternatively assert that the Act discriminates based on transgender status,' Benton wrote. 'To the contrary, the Act does not classify based on transgender status. Like the Tennessee law upheld by the Supreme Court, the Act effectively divides minors into two groups. In one group are minors seeking drugs or surgeries for the purposes that the Act prohibits. In the other group are minors seeking drugs or surgeries for purposes the Act does not prohibit.'
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
IL House Committee hears debate over SAVE Act
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — The Illinois House Ethics and Elections Committee heard heated testimony over the potential impact of the proposal on Illinois voters and its impact on voters' ability to vote. The U.S House passed a controversial Resolution, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, also known as the SAVE Act, that would require proof of citizenship for anyone registering to vote or renewing their registration with a birth certificate or passport. Nearly $1 million in funding coming to expand workforce training in Sangamon County Committee Chair Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford) opened the hearing by pointing to the committee's goal, which is to be 'proactive rather than reactive' to the proposal change that could affect future voting. Some exchanges were rather the other way. During the hearing, supporters said the federal proposal is about protecting the integrity of the election as they point out that non-citizens could vote in the election without being well aware. The opponents argued by saying the change would disenfranchise millions of Americans, including people with disabilities and women. Kerri Toloczko from Election Integrity Network was the only supporter to testify for the SAVE said the checkbox at the DMV is not enough and the SAVE Act will protect both citizens and non-citizens from voting fraud. 'The mechanism for attesting that a new registrant is a U.S. citizen and eligible to vote is a small checkbox on a federal postcard voter registration form, did not include proof that the registrant is a U.S. citizen, that is simply what the SAFE Act does,' Toloczko said. 'Those of us who have concerns about non-citizen voting are also often told, well it's already illegal so no need for the SAFE Act. A law by itself doesn't prevent a whole lot.' Eli Brottman, Policy director from Change Illinois, and five other supporters argued that the number of voting fraud cases is rare and instead the act would create more barriers for Americans and women whose names may not match because of marriage. 'For the 84% of women who are married who changed their surnames, transgender individuals and others, this presents a problem,' Brottman said. 'Disenfranchising millions of voters, including disproportionately women and people of color, will drastically change the outcome of elections.' Sen. Duckworth backs Juliana Stratton's Senate campaign Pew Research found that about 80 percent of women change their name after getting married and 34 percent said they would if they were to get married. This means over 5.1 million women in Illinois could be affected under the SAVE Act because their current name would not match their birth certificate. Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Collinsville), who was present at the committee, said she could have been among the women affected because of her name change. But because she travels, she has a Real ID and passport. However, her mother-in-law and people with disabilities could very much be affected. 'Many women have changed their names. I am one of those women. I happen to have a REAL ID and a passport, but I have an 85-year-old mother-in-law who's been Sandy Stewart for as long as she can probably remember,' Stuart said. 'But that's not her birth name. Her birth certificate does not match her ID. And if my mother-in-law were to move, she would lose her ability to be a registered voter.' Illinois Senate approves bill to ban styrofoam containers, House to vote next Toloczko said the states have some authority to make voting guidelines to ease burdens on disabilities and women could prove their name change. 'The SAVE Act very specifically and deliberately gives power to the states, just like in Illinois, the right to write those laws of registration the way you want them. So if you want people to vote or to register online, you can do that. They only have to provide proof of citizenship. And I believe that people with disabilities are just as capable of doing that as able-bodied people,' Toloczko said. 'And pardon me for saying this is insulting to a lot of women to imply that somehow they can't manage to get an ID or they can't manage to find their birth certificate or their marriage license.' The SAVE Act passed the House and is now headed to the U.S. Senate, where they will vote on whether to implement the proof of citizenship in order to vote. There may be a chance for a filibuster since the Senate Republicans don't have 60 votes, which is required to facilitate the passage of the SAVE Act. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
30-04-2025
- Politics
Court reinstates enforcement of Ohio's ban on gender-affirming care for minors
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio may enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for minors while an appeal proceeds, a divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. The law also bans transgender women and girls from participating in female sports. The high court's 4-3 decision reverses a lower court ruling from March that had blocked the 2023 law from taking effect. The order marked a victory for Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who has characterized the legal dispute as a fight 'to protect these unprotected children.' Yost has parted ways on the issue with the governor, fellow Republican Mike DeWine, who vetoed what was labeled the SAFE Act in December 2023 in a move he called thoughtful, limited and 'pro-life.' The GOP-supermajority Legislature quickly overrode the action. Justice Pat DeWine, the governor's son, joined the three Republican justices elected in November — Joseph Deters, Megan Shanahan and Dan Hawkins — in reinstating enforcement of the law. Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, and Justices Jennifer Brunner and Pat Fischer dissented. The law calls for banning counseling, surgery and hormone therapy for youth, unless they are already receiving such therapies and a doctor deems it risky to stop, as well as containing the sports provisions. The litigation was filed in March 2024 by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio and the global law firm Goodwin, who argued the law not only denies health care to transgender children and teens, but it specifically discriminates against them accessing it by allowing the use of identical medications for other purposes. They lost at the trial court level, but later succeeded in getting the law temporarily blocked by a panel of the 10th District Court of Appeals, which reversed the lower court judge's decision allowing the law to go into effect, on grounds it 'reasonably limits parents' rights.' The Center for Christian Virtue, which lobbied for the law, lauded Tuesday's ruling. 'The General Assembly has every ability to enact laws protecting children like the SAFE Act,' President Aaron Baer said in a statement, 'and the Supreme Court sided with the Ohio Constitution by overturning the lower court.'
Toronto Star
30-04-2025
- Health
- Toronto Star
High court reinstates enforcement of Ohio's ban on gender-affirming care for minors during appeal
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio may enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for minors while an appeal proceeds, a divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. The law also bans transgender women and girls from participating in female sports. The high court's 4-3 decision reverses a lower court ruling from March that had blocked the 2023 law from taking effect. The order marked a victory for Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who has characterized the legal dispute as a fight 'to protect these unprotected children.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Yost has parted ways on the issue with the governor, fellow Republican Mike DeWine, who vetoed what was labeled the SAFE Act in December 2023 in a move he called thoughtful, limited and 'pro-life.' The GOP-supermajority Legislature quickly overrode the action. Justice Pat DeWine, the governor's son, joined the three Republican justices elected in November — Joseph Deters, Megan Shanahan and Dan Hawkins — in reinstating enforcement of the law. Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, and Justices Jennifer Brunner and Pat Fischer dissented. The law calls for banning counseling, surgery and hormone therapy for youth, unless they are already receiving such therapies and a doctor deems it risky to stop, as well as containing the sports provisions. The litigation was filed in March 2024 by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio and the global law firm Goodwin, who argued the law not only denies health care to transgender children and teens, but it specifically discriminates against them accessing it by allowing the use of identical medications for other purposes. They lost at the trial court level, but later succeeded in getting the law temporarily blocked by a panel of the 10th District Court of Appeals, which reversed the lower court judge's decision allowing the law to go into effect, on grounds it 'reasonably limits parents' rights.' The Center for Christian Virtue, which lobbied for the law, lauded Tuesday's ruling. 'The General Assembly has every ability to enact laws protecting children like the SAFE Act,' President Aaron Baer said in a statement, 'and the Supreme Court sided with the Ohio Constitution by overturning the lower court.'
Winnipeg Free Press
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
High court reinstates enforcement of Ohio's ban on gender-affirming care for minors during appeal
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio may enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for minors while an appeal proceeds, a divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. The law also bans transgender women and girls from participating in female sports. The high court's 4-3 decision reverses a lower court ruling from March that had blocked the 2023 law from taking effect. The order marked a victory for Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who has characterized the legal dispute as a fight 'to protect these unprotected children.' Yost has parted ways on the issue with the governor, fellow Republican Mike DeWine, who vetoed what was labeled the SAFE Act in December 2023 in a move he called thoughtful, limited and 'pro-life.' The GOP-supermajority Legislature quickly overrode the action. Justice Pat DeWine, the governor's son, joined the three Republican justices elected in November — Joseph Deters, Megan Shanahan and Dan Hawkins — in reinstating enforcement of the law. Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, and Justices Jennifer Brunner and Pat Fischer dissented. The law calls for banning counseling, surgery and hormone therapy for youth, unless they are already receiving such therapies and a doctor deems it risky to stop, as well as containing the sports provisions. The litigation was filed in March 2024 by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio and the global law firm Goodwin, who argued the law not only denies health care to transgender children and teens, but it specifically discriminates against them accessing it by allowing the use of identical medications for other purposes. They lost at the trial court level, but later succeeded in getting the law temporarily blocked by a panel of the 10th District Court of Appeals, which reversed the lower court judge's decision allowing the law to go into effect, on grounds it 'reasonably limits parents' rights.' During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. The Center for Christian Virtue, which lobbied for the law, lauded Tuesday's ruling. 'The General Assembly has every ability to enact laws protecting children like the SAFE Act,' President Aaron Baer said in a statement, 'and the Supreme Court sided with the Ohio Constitution by overturning the lower court.'
