Amicus; submitted April 18, 2024
In an amicus brief* submitted to the Montana Supreme Court, Compassion & Choices (C&C) argued that the Court should uphold Montana’s broad constitutional privacy protections, which extend to medical decision making. The case, Van Garderen v. Montana, concerns a Montana law, SB99, that bans a wide range of gender-affirming treatment for minors. C&C submitted a brief in favor of two families with transgender youth and two medical providers who work with transgender youth who are challenging SB99 as an unconstitutional restriction of their rights. C&C weighed in because an adverse ruling in the suit could have consequences far beyond limiting access to gender-affirming care in Montana, and could diminish an individual’s ability to make complex and highly sensitive end-of-life decisions in line with their needs, values, and beliefs.
Compassion & Choices is committed to ensuring patients have access to quality care and the full range of options at the end-of-life. To learn more about our legal advocacy work, please visit our Legal Advocacy webpage.
*Amicus curiae is Latin for “friend of the court.” Amicus briefs are commonly submitted by anyone wanting to make a point relating to a court case that the litigating parties are not addressing.
