Trans athletes in Utah court; judge requests further medical records
Sep 11, 2023, 2:19 PM | Updated: Sep 12, 2023, 7:25 am
SALT LAKE CITY — Arguments from both sides of the Jenny Roe V. Utah High School Activities case were presented to a judge on Monday, challenging a new law in Utah that blocks transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams.
The hearing, which lasted a few hours, closed with Honorable Judge Keith Kelly deciding more medical-related documents are required before making further moves.
The plaintiff in this case is the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing two transgender athletes trying to play on their school teams. They want to see that transgender girls are able to play high school sports. They claim that preventing girls from being able to play in those sports is unconstitutional.
The girls and their families are staying anonymous through the proceedings. One is a swimmer and the other is a volleyball player.
The ALCU claims these athletes had not had any kind of physical alteration to give them an unfair advantage in girls’ sports. They claim it endangers the emotional and mental health of these athletes to prevent them from participating.
The defendant ALCU is up against is the Utah High School Activities Association.
The UHSAA maintains its position that sex and gender correlate directly to the sport an athlete can play.
The plaintiff, ACLU and the athletes must meet a deadline set by the judge to provide those documents.
