Judges nominated by presidents Trump, Clinton and George W. Bush walk into a First Amendment case about compelled affirmation of gender identity and facilitation of medicalized transitions as a condition of adoption. The punchline may surprise you.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday blocked Oregon’s Department of Human Services from denying Jessica Bates’ application to adopt the siblings she is fostering based on her refusal to honor the asserted gender identity of “hypothetical adopted children” in speech or actions, with the Trump and Clinton nominees overruling the Bush nominee.
U.S District Judge Adrienne Nelson, nominated by President Biden, denied a preliminary injunction for the widowed Christian mother of five in 2023, arguing the failure to “respect a child’s LGBTQ+ identity imposes collateral harm on the child’s development, safety, and physical well-being.”
Nelson also determined the regulation meets the highest standard of judicial review, strict scrutiny, as the least restrictive means of achieving a compelling state interest, explicitly disagreeing with a 2020 ruling against a similar Washington policy by an Obama nominee, Judge Salvador Mendoza, whom Biden subsequently appointed to the 9th Circuit.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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