On Thursday, December 12, the Montana Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s temporary injunction against SB 99, a 2023 Montana law that categorically bans life-saving gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The bill is seen as unconstitutional under the Montana state constitution’s privacy clause, which prohibits government intrusion on private medical decisions. This ruling allows Montana communities and families to continue accessing medical treatments for transgender minors with gender dysphoria.
Two justices filed a concurrence arguing that the Court should also clarify that discrimination on the basis of transgender status is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Montana’s Equal Protection Clause. The case against the Montana law now goes to trial before District Court Judge Jason Marks in Missoula.
“Fortunately, the Montana Supreme Court understands the danger of the state interfering with critical healthcare,”said Lambda Legal Counsel Kell Olson. “Because Montana’s constitutional protections are even stronger than their federal counterparts, transgender youth in Montana can sleep easier tonight knowing that they can continue to thrive for now, without this looming threat hanging over their heads.”
Plaintiffs in the case included Molly and Paul Cross and their 17-year-old transgender son Phoebe, Jane and John Doe joining on behalf of their 16-year-old transgender daughter, and two providers of gender-affirming care who bring claims on their own behalf and on behalf of their Montana patients.
“I will never understand why my representatives are working to strip me of my rights and the rights of other transgender kids,” expressed Phoebe Cross, also the lead plaintiff in the court case. “Just living as a trans teenager is difficult enough, the last thing me and my peers need is to have our rights taken away.”Legislative debate over Montana’s bill drew national attention in the spring of 2023 after Republicans punished Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the first transgender woman elected to the state’s Legislature, for admonishing lawmakers who supported the bill.
The Montana Supreme Court “has reaffirmed what we have known all along. Gender-affirming care saves lives, and like all health care decisions, it should be left between doctors and patients,” Zephyr said Wednesday.