By Brendan Pierson
(Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that a transgender middle-school girl in West Virginia can compete in her school's girls' track and cross-country teams, blocking enforcement of a state law against her.
In a 2-1 ruling, the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the law, which prohibits any transgender girls from playing on girls' sports teams, would illegally discriminate against Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 13-year-old who has publicly identified as transgender for around five years and takes puberty-blocking medication.
U.S. Circuit Judge Toby Heytens, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, said requiring Pepper-Jackson to compete on boys' teams was "no real choice at all" and would "directly contradict the treatment protocols for gender dysphoria."
He said enforcing the law against her violated Title IX, a federal law against sex discrimination in schools. Heytens' opinion was joined by Circuit Judge Pamela Harris, who was appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama.
The court did not go as far as striking down the law altogether. Heytens said the ruling did not require that transgender girls always be allowed to play on girls' teams, "regardless of whether they have gone through puberty."
Joshua Block of the American Civil Liberties Union, a lawyer for the plaintiff, called the ruling "a tremendous victory for our client, transgender West Virginians, and the freedom of all youth to play as who they are."
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, said in a statement that he was "deeply disappointed" and would continue to defend the law, adding it was necessary to ensure "girls have a truly fair playing-field."
Pepper-Jackson is an eighth grader at Bridgeport Middle School in Bridgeport, West Virginia, and has competed in track and field for three seasons there, according to court filings.
In 2021, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, a Republican, signed the Save Women's Sports Act, which barred transgender girls from competing on girls' teams.
At least 22 other states have passed laws on sports similar to West Virginia's. One, in Idaho, was blocked last year by the 9th Circuit.
Pepper-Jackson and her mother sued state authorities soon after the law took effect, seeking to block it from being enforced against her.
A lower court judge ruled against Pepper-Jackson, but the 4th Circuit put that ruling on hold while it considered the appeal and the U.S. Supreme Court in April 2023 declined to lift the 4th Circuit's injunction.
U.S. Circuit Judge G. Steven Agee, an appointee of former Republican George W. Bush, dissented from Tuesday's ruling, saying the majority went beyond the intent of Title IX.
"Gender identity, simply put, has nothing to do with sports," he wrote. "It does not change a person's biology or physical characteristics."