2022–2023 Southern Illinois University National Health Law Moot Court Competition

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Notes

1 Competition note: Advocates should assume that the plaintiffs have standing, each court has properly exercised jurisdiction, and all procedural steps outside of the issues discussed in the problem have been properly followed.

2 A transgender person as one whose gender identity is different from the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth. Transgender, Merriam-Webster Unabr. Dictionary (3rd ed. 2002).”Gender identity” is defined as a person’s internal sense of being a male or a female. Gender identity, Merriam-Webster Unabr. Dictionary (3rd ed. 2002). These terms and definitions are largely consistent with those used by the parties. Accordingly, the Court relies on these terms throughout this opinion but recognizes that they might mean different things to different people and in different contexts. Plaintiff Jess Mariano uses the pronouns “he/him/his,” which the Court will use as well when referring to Jess.

3 See Guideline Regarding Hormonal Treatment of Minors with Gender Dysphoria at Tema Barn—Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital (ALB) (April, 2022), unofficial English translation by Soc’y for Evidence Based Med. Available at https://segm.org/sites/default/files/Karolinska%20Policy%20Change%20K2021-3343%20March%202021%20%28English%2C%20unofficial%20translation%29.pdf; Finland’s Council for Choices in Healthcare Policy Statement, Palveluvalikoima, Recommendation of the Council for Choices in Health Care in Finland (PALKO/COHERE Finland), unofficial English translation by Soc’y for Evidence Based Med. Available at https://segm.org/sites/default/files/Finnish_Guidelines_2020_Minors_Unofficial%20Translation.pdf.

4 U.K. Nat’l Health Servs., NHS Announces Independent Review into Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People (Sept. 22, 2020), https://www.england.nhs.uk/2020/09/nhs-announces-independent-review-into-gender-identity-services-for-children-and-young-people/.

5 Similar to the lower court, because this case is in essence a claim against the state, this Court will refer to Appellant as “Lincoln.”

6 The case is currently scheduled for trial in the district court in February 2023, after having initially been scheduled for August 2022.

7 Relatedly, given the unproven nature of the treatments at issue and real concerns about informed consent, I would find the public interest favors the state’s desire to put a pause on these treatments. The lower court gave short shrift to the state’s arguments in that regard.