“Biological reality” is Republican-speak for “our ideological commitment to ignoring the complexities of biological reality as it pertains to intersex, transgender and nonbinary individuals, in favor of an oversimplified rigid binary-sex model that the overwhelming majority of researchers and clinicians consider insufficient for understanding the nature of human sex and gender.”
A big win for those who want to drive transgender kids out of school sports.
The DOJ said that, as Christians, the boys’ “religious beliefs require them to use biologically accurate pronouns and use sex-segregated facilities.”
The boy’s religious beliefs do no such thing and I’m fucking tired of this.
Does that mean these kids live in houses with multiple bathrooms to maintain their religiously mandated sex-segregated facilities?
Remember folks, when students’ religious beliefs lead them to decline accepting a Bible from their public school principal, they can be coerced and harassed! But if their religious beliefs lead them to insult and torment a trans classmate, they must be permitted to do so!
Trump is trying to stop hospitals from providing “gender-related care” (gift link):
Hospitals cannot survive without any government funding, so if this survives the comment period and lawsuits, no hospitals will provide any puberty blockers or hormone therapies for minors.
No doubt that’s the plan.
Another judge has punched the administration in the face for its lawless anti-trans crusade.
What a great read - thank you. Many plain-spoken nuggets of wisdom in those six pages. I’ll just quote one:
In its public-facing statements, the DOJ appears determined to project two images: it, the great protector of culture and children, see discussions supra; and it, the champion of the faithful-oppressed (mostly, Christians, although sometimes with the slightest pinch of “Judeo-”).
Bonus points for the backhanded Simpsons reference on Page 4 (“eventually, they say the ‘quiet parts’ out loud”).
Within the bounds of judicial restraint, that is a damned fine pissed off and disgusted slapdown by the judge.
So what does this mean, exactly? What was the case?
Them federal government was asking hospitals to turn over all medical records of patients seeking treatment for gender dysphoria. Supposedly in order to study the effectiveness of treatment, but more likely in order to get a list of people to target for harassment and bogus legal action.
The judge saw through this, called them out on their agenda and told them no way in hell. Although he did leave open the possibility that he might allow them to receive anonymized records, which is what is usually provided for scientific studies, but which wouldn’t be useful in their actual goal.
IANAL but my understanding is that the request from the DOJ (which included names, addresses, and SSNs for patients receiving puberty blockers or HRT) was already blocked by a similar decision a month ago where the plaintiff was the hospital. This was a “redundant” filing by the patients/parents, whom the government said did not have standing.
In response to the previous loss, the DOJ requested anonymized data, which is still working its way through the courts. THIS decision acknowledges that pivot to anonymized data but I think basically says, 1) the parents/patients do have standing, and 2) that the motion to quash the request for information is doubly quashed. The standing decision is important and good, and quashing the DOJ order (again) is good in case anything happens with the other case from the hospital.
She. 
Given the state of the county and my current situation, I’m actually holding back on any medical transition. I’m very lucky that I’m able to do this.
It makes me so sad what these people are doing to my trans siblings.
A decision is expected by early summer.
The following exchange took place today during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s hearing on…
Sen. Josh Hawley: “Can men get pregnant?”
Dr. Nisha Verma: “I’m not really sure what the goal of the question is.”
Hawley: “The goal is just to establish a biological reality. You said just a moment ago that science and evidence should control, not politics. So, let’s test that. Can men get pregnant?”
Dr. Verma: “I take care of people with many identities…I’m also someone here to represent the complex experiences of my patients. I don’t think polarized language or questions serve that goal…”
Hawley: “It is not polarizing to say that there is a scientific difference between men and women…It is not polarizing to say that women are a biological reality and should be treated and protected as such.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hymaQWjBOqM
the Use of Chemical Abortion Drugs, because they can not talk about any women’s issue without bringing up trans.
The biological reality established there is that Hawley is a moronic dickhead.
ISTM that the answer is that any competent adult who does get pregnant has exactly the same right to terminate a pregnancy using mifepristone and related drugs as any other pregnant competent adult does.
Which of those pregnant adults you decide to call “men” or “women”, or however you choose to assign linguistic descriptors to human biological characteristics, is completely irrelevant to the issue of abortion rights.
(Except, of course, in the meta sense of systemic misogyny valorizing patriarchal control of women and thus tending to restrict women’s autonomy in a lot of matters including pregnancy. That’s an important aspect of the abortion-rights issue on the historical and societal level, but it doesn’t change jack-shit about any specific pregnant individual’s right to terminate a pregnancy.)