West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey joined a 22-state coalition in a brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Tennessee law that protects children by prohibiting certain medical interventions to treat gender dysphoria, including puberty blockers and hormones.
The coalition asked the court to uphold the fundamental role of the states in the regulation of medicine, healthcare and child welfare.
“We are talking about the safety children’s wellbeing, both physical and psychological,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “States must have the right to protect them from these life-altering surgical and chemical procedures.”
In the country’s federalist system, it is the people through their elected state representatives who determine what procedures are safe and beneficial for children, according to the brief.
States can – and are – choosing different policy approaches. Currently, more than 20 states have enacted laws like Tennessee’s. On the other hand, at least 14 states have enacted contrary laws.
If the Supreme Court were to rule against Tennessee’s law, it “would constitutionalize an issue of intense public and scientific debate best left to the political branches. The Court would remove from the people and their representatives the chance to weigh the scientific claims, decide how best to address the competing interests and make the difficult policy decision,” the coalition wrote.
Attorney General Morrisey joined the brief led by Kentucky, Arkansas and Indiana with attorneys general from Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
Original source can be found here.