Litigation and legislation involving complex issues regarding gender identity are at the forefront of public interest. States and other authorities face questions about legality, morality, or advisability of treatment for minors. Courts are being asked to adjudicate who can participate in sex-segregated sporting competitions. Advocates on all sides of these complex gender identity issues portray their position as a matter of fairness. When minors are involved all sides claim to seek to protect the best interest of the child and there is not a clear ideological breakdown in terms of whether states should adopt a parents rights approach, which cautions deference to parents to protect their child’s best interests, versus those who advocate for state intervention to protect the child. In both red and blue states, advocacy for the respective ideological approaches can draw opposing conclusions, wherein, for example, some states are banning medical intervention for minors over parents’ objections and other states are permitting medical intervention for minors over parents’ objections. Our panel today will discuss these and other legal issues facing state governments, parents, and children as they work to navigate these new legal challenges.
Featuring:

Christiana Kiefer, Senior Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
Prof. Andrew Koppelman, John Paul Stevens Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Shannon Minter, Legal Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights
Christopher Mills, Principal, Spero Law, LLC
Moderator: Hon. Elizabeth Kerr, Justice, Second Court of Appeals, State of Texas