D.T. v. Christ
| Decision Date | 05 August 2021 |
| Docket Number | CV-20-00484-TUC-JAS |
| Citation | 552 F.Supp.3d 888 |
| Parties | D.T., et al., Plaintiffs, v. Dr. Cara M. CHRIST, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Arizona |
Asaf Orr, Pro Hac Vice, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Patrick P. Gunn, Pro Hac Vice, Cooley LLP, San Francisco, CA, Barrett J. Anderson, Pro Hac Vice, Cooley LLP, San Diego, CA, Colin Matthew Proksel, Mary Ruth O'Grady, Payslie Michale Bowman, Osborn Maledon PA, Phoenix, AZ, for Plaintiffs Lizette Trujillo, Susan Doe, Megan Roe.
Asaf Orr, Pro Hac Vice, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Patrick P. Gunn, Pro Hac Vice, Cooley LLP, San Francisco, CA, Barrett J. Anderson, Pro Hac Vice, Cooley LLP, San Diego, CA, Colin Matthew Proksel, Mary Ruth OGrady, Osborn Maledon PA, Phoenix, AZ, for Plaintiffs Laura Poe, Rachel Voe.
Aubrey Joy Corcoran, Patricia Cracchiolo LaMagna, Office of the Attorney General, Phoenix, AZ, Dana M. Keene, Nicholas Daniel Acedo, Daniel Patrick Struck, Struck Love Bojanowski & Acedo PLC, Chandler, AZ, for Defendants Thomas Salow, Krystal Colburn, Don Herrington.
Pending before the Court is Defendants’ motion to dismiss. For the reasons stated below, the motion is denied.1
The dispositive issue raised by a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim is whether the facts as pleaded, if established, support a valid claim for relief. See Neitzke v. Williams , 490 U.S. 319, 328-329, 109 S.Ct. 1827, 104 L.Ed.2d 338 (1989).3 In reviewing a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, a court's review is typically limited to the contents of the complaint. See Clegg v. Cult Awareness Network , 18 F.3d 752, 754 (9th Cir. 1994). Furthermore, a court must "construe the complaint ... in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and [a court must] take the allegations and reasonable inferences as true." Walter v. Drayson , 538 F.3d 1244, 1247 (9th Cir. 2008) ; Morales v. City of Los Angeles , 214 F.3d 1151, 1153 (9th Cir. 2000) (); Clegg , 18 F.3d at 754 (same); see also Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1964-65, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (); Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ().
Plaintiffs are three transgender children (ages 5, 6, and 9) who were born in Arizona and seek to change the gender marker listed on their birth certificates. The gender marker does not align with their gender identity, and therefore involuntarily outs them as transgender every time they must present their birth certificate to complete strangers such as school administrators. Likewise, their birth certificates are used to generate class rosters (which list their gender) for teachers and administrators to see, these class rosters may be available for other kids to see as well, and these school lists may be used to group kids for various school events and activities; this results in the continuous and involuntary outing of their transgender status throughout their school lives. Plaintiffs argue that changing the gender marker on their birth certificates is necessary so they can be free from substantial emotional harm, discrimination, harassment, and violence stemming from their transgender status. Plaintiffs further argue that amending their birth certificates to accurately reflect their gender identity is necessary to bring their life into alignment with their gender identity and enable them to socially transition, which is an important step in the treatment of gender dysphoria
. Plaintiffs argue that the Arizona Department of Health Services ("ADHS") denies them the right to correct their birth certificates to align with their gender identity, and this violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the United States Constitution.
A birth certificate is a critical and ubiquitous identity document; this is especially true for children attending school. Birth certificates are necessary to obtain other essential identity documents, and they are often a requirement for enrolling in school, joining recreational programs, camp signups, and many other activities. A birth certificate that fails to accurately reflect the gender of these transgender children can cause multiple problems in enrolling in school and hinder their full participation in numerous school and extracurricular activities. Plaintiffs argue that without amended birth certificates, their transgender status is exposed when registering for school or these other programs, and that this exposure leads to harassment, discrimination, and possible violence. According to a study by the National Center for Transgender Equality from 2015, nearly one-third of transgender respondents who had an identity document that did not match their gender presentation were harassed, discriminated against, or assaulted.
Plaintiffs argue that they have suffered numerous harms due to this mismatch between their birth certificates and their gender identities being exposed; bullying and harassment stemming from Plaintiffs’ transgender status is reflected throughout the Amended Complaint. For example, a ten-year-old's transgender status (i.e., Jane Doe – a transgender girl)5 was outed based on a class roster found in the cafeteria by a student. Jane Doe was continuously teased, taunted, and otherwise relentlessly bullied because she is transgender; she felt afraid, could not concentrate, continuously missed class to go to the nurse's office for anxiety-induced stomach aches, and suffered substantial psychological distress. The other transgender children in this matter have experienced similar issues and suffered from fear and anxiety related to their poor school experiences: D.T. (a thirteen-year-old transgender boy) was verbally harassed, threatened, and physically assaulted by other students for being transgender; James Poe (a five-year-old transgender boy) was repeatedly berated that he was a girl (not a boy) by an older student; Carl Voe (a nine-year-old transgender boy) was constantly asked whether he was a boy or girl, students would not believe any answer he gave, and repeatedly referred to him as a girl; and upon learning the transgender status of Helen Roe (a six-year-old transgender girl), other parents in Helen's pre-school class contacted the head of the school to convey their fear that Helen was a threat to their children's security.
According to medical and psychological experts, changing the sex marker on a transgender child's birth certificate is an important step in protecting the child's transgender status from being improperly exposed to others, and thus helps them avoid numerous harms caused by the disclosure of their private medical information.
Research indicates that children typically become aware of their gender identity between the ages of two and five years old. During this self-identifying process, transgender children begin to express their gender identification through their statements and actions. A transgender boy's self-identification as a boy is as strong and consistent as a non-transgender boy's self-identification, and the same is true for a transgender girl and a non-transgender girl. This gender identity in transgender people has a biological component and cannot be changed. Thus, efforts to change a transgender person's identity would be considered unethical and harmful to a person's health and well-being.
The incongruence between a transgender person's gender identity and assigned sex can cause significant psychological distress, which is commonly referred to as gender dysphoria
. Gender dysphoria is a serious health condition recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition ("DSM-5"), and it is recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Medical Association, and other professional medical organizations. Untreated gender dysphoria may result in severe psychological distress, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and even self-harm. Plaintiffs have suffered such psychological distress due to gender dysphoria, including episodes of self-harm. For example, Plaintiff Carl Voe, during fits of rage and frustration caused by gender dysphoria, would attempt to shut cabinet doors on his own hands and would refuse to eat meals. Symptoms of depression and anxiety are common amongst transgender children who do not receive proper support from their community.
Gender dysphoria
is highly treatable, and Plaintiffs are following the standards of care for this condition while under the supervision of doctors. These standards of care were created by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health ("WPATH"), which is an international, multidisciplinary, professional association of medical providers...
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