© Jim Watson/AFP via Getty ImagesIdaho Gov. Brad Little speaks at the White House in Washington on July 16, 2020.
The court allowed the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, a state law forbidding so-called gender-affirming care for minors, to take effect pending appeals.The U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency order late on April 15 allowing Idaho to resume enforcing a state ban on sex-change-related procedures for minors after the law was blocked by lower courts.At least five of the six conservative justices voted to restore the state law, while all three liberals voted against doing so.
It was unclear at press time how Chief Justice John Roberts, a moderate conservative, voted, if he voted at all.
U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Winmill, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, found in December 2023 that Idaho could not enforce the statute while the litigation remained pending. Idaho appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which affirmed Judge Winmill's temporary injunction blocking the law, but has yet to issue a final ruling in the case.
Although the decision took the form of an unsigned order, there were multiple opinions
(pdf) issued by various justices.
Comment: Given the dire, uncontrolled example provided by US southern border, Ireland would be smart to specify and lock its process.