Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—leader of the Equality Act—today issued the following statement after the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Skrmetti:
“Access to medically-necessary care for trans youth saves lives, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s callous decision puts trans youth and their families at risk.
“MAGA extremists across the nation will not stop at banning medically-necessary gender-affirming care for trans youth. The Court’s life-altering decision lays out the playbook for extremist politicians to continue their crusade against trans people and further exclude them from daily life. And this is just the beginning—this decision opens the floodgates for MAGA extremists in state legislatures and Congress to ban medically-necessary care, from gender-affirming care to abortion access.
“This is just wrong—everyone should have access to the care they need, when they need it. No exceptions.
“Let’s get politicians out of the exam room. We will continue to fight these divisive policies in communities nationwide to fully realize the vision of America as a land of freedom and equality for all, and I won’t rest until my Equality Act is signed into law to deliver on this fundamental promise.”
Merkley co-led 164 members of Congress in filing an amicus brief to defend transgender Americans’ right to access medically-necessary health care in this case.
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