Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Utah Judge: Medical Records Of 2 Trans Minors Must Be Shared With State
The Salt Lake Tribune: Private Medical Records For Transgender Minors Will Be Shared With The State, Utah Judge Rules In Sports Ban Case
A Utah judge has granted the state unprecedented access to the private medical records of two transgender minors — including any of their counseling and mental health reports and specifically any documents about when they started puberty. The minors are both transgender girls suing over Utah’s 2022 ban on athletes like them playing high school sports for girls’ teams. Judge Keith Kelly said the girls’ medical records “go to the issues that are squarely raised in this case.” (Tanner, 9/12)
AP: Florida Law Restricting Transgender Adult Care Can Be Enforced While Challenged In Court
A new Florida law restricting health care for transgender people can still be applied to adults while it is being challenged in court, a federal judge ruled Monday. Judge Robert Hinkle, who previously blocked the law’s enforcement on behalf of minors, ruled that adults seeking to expand his injunction haven’t proven they would be irreparably harmed until the case is resolved. (9/12)
AP: Families Ask Full Appellate Court To Reconsider Alabama Transgender Care Ban
Alabama families with transgender children asked a full appellate court Monday to review a decision that will let the state enforce a ban on treating minors with gender-affirming hormones and puberty blockers. The families asked all of the judges of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review a three-judge panel decision issued last month. The panel lifted a judge’s temporary injunction that had blocked Alabama from enforcing the law while a lawsuit over the ban goes forward. (Chandler, 9/12)
Fox News: Second University In Missouri To Stop Prescribing Transgender Medication To Minors
After Missouri’s state law restricting transgender care, Washington University in St. Louis joined University of Missouri Health in ceasing to prescribe puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to minors for purposes of gender transition. ... "This legal claim creates unsustainable liability for health-care professionals and makes it untenable for us to continue to provide comprehensive transgender care for minor patients without subjecting the university and our providers to an unacceptable level of liability," the statement continued. (Nelson, (9/12)
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: Cleveland Diocese’s Policy Raises Concern About Harm Risk For LGBTQ Community, Some Residents Fear
Some Northeast Ohio residents fear that a formal policy from the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland will increase the risk of suicide and self-harm among young people who identify as LGBTQ. The policy, which went into effect earlier this month, bars students and staff from undergoing gender-affirming care and using pronouns different than those affiliated with a person’s biological sex. It also requires church or school staff members to tell the parents of a child who might be transgender. (Walsh, 9/12)
