It Is All Up To The Judge

The both side have presented there cases and the witnesses have been heard, now it is up to the judge.

Parents want custody to stop transgender teen having hormone treatment
CNN
By Jen Christensen
February 13, 2018

CNN)An Ohio court will decide the fate of a transgender teen who is in what the judge describes as a "gut-wrenching situation."
The 17-year-old identifies as a boy. Neither he nor his family can be named, according to court instructions. The teen's parents want court authority to stop their child from getting the treatment and therapy that was recommended by his medical team in what it characterizes as a possible life-or-death situation.
Medical experts testified that the father's ongoing refusal to call the child by his chosen name and the parents' rejection of the teen's gender identity have triggered suicidal feelings.


The teen was hospitalized in 2016. He has been diagnosed with depression, an anxiety disorder and gender dysphoria, according to court records. Gender dysphoria is a psychiatric diagnosis the American Psychiatric Association defines as "a conflict between a person's physical or assigned gender and the gender with which he/she/they identify."


The teen is in the temporary legal custody of Hamilton County Job and Family Services and lives with his maternal grandparents, who want custody and are supportive of the teen's gender identity. He wants to stay with them.
[…]
But in her written closing argument, their attorney, Karen Brinkman, argued that the parents maintain that they love their child and said that the child's mother said the child has "nothing to fear" from her and that she wants to have a relationship with her child. She also acknowledged that if the parents are granted custody, they want the child to continue to live with the maternal grandparents, "not in an effort to avoid parenting their child, but because they believe that the current living arrangement is in (the teen's) best interest."


Citing the teen's mental state, Brinkman said, "it does not appear that this child is even close to being able to make such a life-altering decision at this time."

But the state pointed out that,

But Donald Clancy of the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office argued that the reason why the parents don't want their child to receive hormone replacement therapy is because it is also against their religious beliefs. "Father testified that any kind of transition at all would go against his core beliefs and allowing the child to transition would be akin to him taking his heart out of his chest and placing it on the table," according to a transcript of Clancy's closing argument.

Now it is up to the judge…

The juvenile court judge, calling it "obviously a gut-wrenching situation for all of you to face," has said she will issue a ruling by Friday.

Last month's post on this case can be seen here.

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Update: February 11, 2018, Zipper That Lip
The bill to prohibit discussion trans issues failed to pass…

South Dakota lawmakers defeat transgender bathroom proposal
Argus Leader
By Dana Ferguson
February 12, 2018


PIERRE — A legislative committee on Monday voted down a proposal to require schools to write and make public their policies governing transgender bathroom use.


The House Judiciary Committee on an 11-1 vote deferred House Bill 1296 to the 41st legislative day, effectively tabling the proposal.


Lawmakers expressed fatigue about the issue of transgender students' bathroom access prior to defeating the proposal.


"We have discussed and discussed and discussed this," said Rep. Susan Wismer, D-Britton. "Every time this bill is introduced it targets a vulnerable population, and I regret that very much."


The bill comes two years after the South Dakota Legislature approved a bill barring transgender students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that don't match their biological sex at birth. Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed that proposal.

So we won but giving their track record we can see the Republicans introducing the bill next session.