Endocrine Society Signs Amicus Brief for G.G. v Gloucester

On May 15, an amicus brief was submitted on behalf of 16 medical and mental health organizations, including the Endocrine Society, to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the plaintiff.

Amicus briefs are legal documents filed in appellate court cases by non-litigants who have a strong interest in the subject matter. The briefs advise the court of additional relevant information or arguments that the court might wish to consider.

G.G. v Gloucester County School Board was brought before the court by a transgender student in Gloucester County, Va., because he was prohibited from using the bathroom at school that matched his gender identity. The brief informed the Court of the medical consensus regarding what it means to be transgender; the protocols for the treatment of gender dysphoria; and the predictable harms to the health and well-being of transgender adolescents when they are excluded from restrooms that match their gender identity.

The case was previously before the Supreme Court but was vacated and remanded to the Fourth Circuit Court following the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw previous federal guidance that said school divisions must allow transgender students to use the bathroom matching their gender identity.

Aside from the Endocrine Society, other medical and health organizations who co-submitted the brief are the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Nursing, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the American Medical Women’s Association, the American Nurses Association, the American Psychoanalytic Association, the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs, GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality, Mental Health America, the National Association of Social Workers, the Society forAdolescent Health and Medicine, and the Society for Physician Assistants in Pediatrics.