Thread by @chasestrangio

So what happened today in the UK with trans legal rights and why does it matter? Some quick thoughts!

As part of a well-funded global movement attacking trans people, our bodies, our rights, and our healthcare, a challenge was filed to try to stop the National Health Service’s ability to provide gender-affirming care for trans minors.

Last year, a High Court decision in the UK effectively put a halt to care for trans minors across England and Wales. The decision claimed that gender-affirming care warranted unique intervention by the courts.

The court had found that trans minors do not have the capacity to consent to gender-affirming care. The decision was weaponized and leveraged in fights across the US and around the world.

State legislatures repeatedly cited to the decision in Bell v. Tavistock in support of bans on care for trans minors here in the US. In defense of their law banning care, Arkansas repeatedly cited to the High Court decision in Tavistock in court.

Today that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal. Decision here: judiciary.uk/wp-content/upl…

The appeals court admonished the lower court for applying wholly anomalous rules and standards and reversed the decision in its entirety.

Today the court also admonished the lower court for admitting “expert” testimony without following the rules and in a fashion that was wholly argumentative.

All the care that trans youth receive is routinely provided to cis people for comparable reasons. It is also provided pursuant to well-established and rigorous medical guidelines. In many cases it is almost impossible for youth to obtain the care.

For all the claims that our care and our lives are experimental or dangerous, there are decades of evidence and experience showing exactly the opposite.

We thrive when we are affirmed and given latitude to follow our paths toward self-actualization.

Thank you to everyone across the UK and around the world who fought for today’s outcome. It is not the end of this fight but it is a huge win and I celebrate with all of you.