US Supreme Court to rule on birthright citizenship and trans athletes

The other major case being released on Tuesday has to do with whether states can restrict transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ school and college sports.

During oral arguments in January, the court considered cases from students in Idaho and West Virginia who were challenging bans on participation.

The two states enacted laws that require public school and college sports teams to compete in accordance to their sex recorded at birth.

One of the two challenges says the ban violates equal rights protections in the US Constitution. The other says it contradicts civil rights laws.

Over two dozen states currently have similar bans.

During more than three hours of arguments, at least five of the justices appeared to favour upholding the bans.

The court has a 6-3 conservative majority.

Requiring transgender athletes to compete in sport categories that match their biological sex has been a core agenda item for Republicans at the state and federal level under the Trump administration.

Proponents of the bans argue that transgender women have a biological advantage over athletes who were recorded female at birth.

When the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in March it was going to limit the women’s category of Olympic sports to biological females, it said its working group reviewed the latest scientific evidence over the previous 18 months.

The group concluded there was a “clear consensus”, external that “male sex provides a performance advantage in all sports and events that rely on strength, power and resistance” .

Those who oppose the bans argue they unfairly discriminate against transgender students. They also dispute whether there is a scientific consensus that transgender women and girls have an inherent advantage.

The court’s decision on the case could set a nationwide precedent for how civil rights protections are applied to transgender students.