Court Cases

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP filed a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County against Penn State Health, Penn State Health St. Joseph, and the Pennsylvania State University after a hospital in the Penn State Health network abruptly canceled a gender-affirming procedure less than 24 hours before the patient was scheduled to receive their care. Administrators at Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center claimed the operation went against Catholic doctrine despite regularly performing similar procedures on cisgender men and women. Penn State Health is a network of public hospitals funded in part by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. EJ Stiles was scheduled for a medically necessary mastectomy when the procedure was canceled by hospital administrators because the procedure was in violation of the hospital’s “Catholic doctrine." The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and attorneys’ fees on behalf of Stiles and asks the court to declare that Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center’s actions violated their rights under the Equal Rights Amendment, equal protection provisions, and religious freedom provisions of the Pennsylvania Constitution, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

On October 6, 2022, the ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Education on behalf of seven students in Central Bucks School District who allege a culture of discrimination against LGBQ&T students, particularly trans and nonbinary students.