Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund

Today, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) issued the following statement by Executive Director Andy Marra in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in California v. Texas:

“Today’s decision means that transgender people will continue to have expanded access to affordable, affirming health care and to be covered by Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which provides critical non-discrimination protections."

On June 16, 2021, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) will host Pride & Joy, its first-ever virtual storytelling event for transgender and non-binary young people, along with their families and friends. The event features transgender storytellers and leaders, and aims to provide family-friendly opportunities to celebrate Pride month, particularly as lawmakers in legislatures across the country consider more than 100 anti-trans bills that would have significant negative impacts on young transgender people.

Minutes before a Monday federal court hearing in Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY) et al v. HHS, a lawsuit challenging the Trump-Pence Administration’s rule undermining healthcare nondiscrimination protections contained in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Office for Civil Rights will interpret and enforce Section 1557 and Title IX’s prohibitions on discrimination based on sex to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Today, the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) with support from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic delivered a letter to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava inviting her and other county officials to discuss the mistreatment and abuse of transgender people in Miami-Dade County jails and engage in a structured negotiation with their clients. The organizations represent Jae Bucci (she/her), a woman of transfeminine experience; Christian Pallidine (he/him), a transgender man; and Gabriela Amaya Cruz (she/her), a transgender woman -- all of whom were arrested during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, and detained and abused at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK). The charges against them were later dropped.

Today, the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) lauded the Senate Judiciary Committee’s decision to include testimony from Stella Keating, a transgender high school student, in its hearing on the Equality Act.

“Trans youth are under attack across the country. We are heartened that senators will hear directly from a young trans person about the impact their votes will have on her life,” said Andy Marra, Executive Director of TLDEF. “As the senators of the Judiciary Committee will hear today, there is no time to waste in passing the Equality Act. Trans lives hang in the balance.”

Aetna, a CVS Health company, with the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) and national civil rights law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, today announced that Aetna has expanded coverage of gender-affirming surgery to include breast augmentation for transfeminine members of most of its commercial plans. The announcement is the result of collaboration between Aetna, TLDEF, Cohen Milstein, and several transgender beneficiaries.

TLDEF with partners Garden State Equality and Lowenstein Sandler secure removal of name change publication requirement through an amended rule as decided by New Jersey Supreme Court. At a time when transgender people are experiencing increased rates of poverty and unemployment, court and publication fees can be insurmountable barriers to accessing affirming and life-saving identity documents. Removing these requirements makes the process and the courts more accessible.

A federal court struck down Alabama’s unconstitutional policy of explicitly requiring surgery before issuing transgender people an accurate driver’s license. TLDEF senior counsel Gabriel Arkles served as lead counsel on the matter.