The Tightening Of The Screws

Picture a medieval torture vise like machine crushing a person's finger... that is the imagine that I get when I think about Skrmetti court ruling, using that logic then everything Trump is doing else can be seen now as being legal!

Trump and company have been sending out letter to hospital that treat us and the hospitals are running scared!!!!! They are worried that they will be cut off of all federal funding.

Hospital shifts on trans care*

Despite state protections, Connecticut Children’s makes changes as Trump, courts roll back rights

By Kaitlin McCallum Hartford Courant

As transgender rights crumble across the United States, Connecticut residents continue to cling to the premise of state’s rights and the promised protections of their elected officials, while hoping for fortitude of their providers.

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled to uphold a state ban on gender-affirming care for minors Wednesday, signaling that it would allow states to enact such bans. The court, in a 6-3 decision, found that Tennessee’s landmark case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, does not discriminate based on sex and transgender status and thus does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The ruling is the latest win for those seeking to ban gender-affirming care and a loss for those who say the care is life-saving and medically recommended as best practice for transgender people.

Amid the evolving lay of the land, a Connecticut hospital told employees it would will remove public-facing language and programs about DEI and gender-affirming care due to “recent federal mandates and heightened scrutiny.” It includes ending use of “visual symbols, logos, event promotions, and communication campaigns associated with any DEI-specific themes, initiatives, or activities,” a document obtained by the Courant shows.

Medical organizations that endorse age-appropriate gender-affirming care include American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychiatric Association, the Endocrine Society, American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Nursing, and the American College of Physicians.

But when you are dependent on federal funds for Medicaid and other programs they have to bow to pressure.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, who has filed a slew of lawsuits seeking to block what he says are unlawful actions by President Donald Trump, condemned the ruling and vowed he would continue to fight to protect transgender residents and their rights.

Even though the Connecticut Attorney General has said he will back us all the way to the Supreme Court… we have now seen what the Supreme Court thinks about our healthcare. Attorney General Tong went on to say...

“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court will harm kids, plain and simple. Gender-affirming care is lifesaving for many individuals, and for a court to uphold bans on medically necessary care to anyone sets a dangerous precedent. These extremely personal and sensitive decisions should be made only by an individual and their doctor without any input or interference from unqualified judges and politicians,” Tong said.

“As the Dobbs decision did with abortion, this ruling risks creating two Americas: one where access to high quality, lifesaving care is protected, and one where discrimination and misinformation restricts that access. So I want to be clear — while today’s ruling is a setback for the rights of transgender youth in certain states across the country, gender-affirming care is still legal and accessible here in 

Connecticut, and my office will continue to fight for and protect transgender youth and their families.”

But the deck is stacked against us.

Still, access to care is tenuous in Connecticut. An executive order, “Protecting Children from Medical and Surgical Mutilation,” on Jan. 28, threatened to defund gender-affirming care providers by stripping them of research or educational grants. Enforcement of that order was blocked by a federal judge in California on June 9, but legal challenges continue. 

We still have the Supreme Court hanging over our heads

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GLAD up in Massachusetts issued this press release...

GLAD Law and NCLR Respond to the Skrmetti Supreme Court Ruling  

“The Court today failed to do its job. It chose to look away, abandoning both vulnerable children and the parents who love them. No parent should be forced to watch their child suffer while proven medical care sits beyond their reach because of politics.”

WASHINGTON, DC—The Supreme Court of the United States today issued its ruling in United States v. Skrmetti, upholding Tennessee’s ban on healthcare for transgender youth. 

Today’s decision has no impact in states where health care for transgender youth is not currently banned.

Every major medical association including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association support this care, backed by decades of research and relying upon the same safe and effective medications used to treat a range of other health issues for children and adults. Last month, in the most comprehensive review to date, a new 1,000+ report commissioned by the Utah Legislature found that this care is supported by substantial evidence, is safe and effective, and reduces risk of suicidality.

GLAD Law Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights Jennifer Levi and National Center for LGBTQ Rights Legal Director Shannon Minter, both of whom have more than 30 years each of LGBTQ+ impact litigation experience, including on transgender health care cases, and are themselves transgender, responded to today’s Supreme Court ruling:

“The Court today failed to do its job,” said GLAD Law Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights Jennifer Levi. “When the political system breaks down and legislatures bow to popular hostility, the judiciary must be the Constitution’s backbone. Instead, it chose to look away, abandoning both vulnerable children and the parents who love them. No parent should be forced to watch their child suffer while proven medical care sits beyond their reach because of politics.”

“The Court’s ruling abandons transgender youth and their families to political attacks. It ignored clear discrimination and disregarded its own legal precedent by letting lawmakers target young people for being transgender,” said National Center for LGBTQ Rights Legal Director Shannon Minter. “Healthcare decisions belong with families, not politicians. This decision will cause real harm.”

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* I think that the name of the article has been changed.