Families of trans teens file lawsuit against New Hampshire officials over sports ban

The families of two transgender teens in New Hampshire have filed a lawsuit challenging a new state law that bans them from playing on girls’ sports teams at their public high schools.

Parker Tirrell, 15, and Iris Turmelle, 14, have identified as girls from an early age and both have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, feelings of distress due to a mismatch between their birth sex and their gender identity.

The lawsuit alleges the New Hampshire law violates constitutional protections and federal laws because the teens are being denied equal educational opportunities and are being discriminated against because they are transgender. 

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Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act into law last month, saying it was widely supported. The measure takes effect next week as nearly half the country has laws that place limitations on transgender people in women's and girls' sports. The law says athletes must play based on their gender on their birth certificates.

Tirrell, who is starting 10th grade this year at Plymouth Regional High School, played soccer with the girls' team in ninth grade and said she wants to start practicing with the team again ahead of the first game on Aug. 30.

"Playing soccer with my teammates is where I feel the most free and happy. We’re there for each other, win or lose," Tirrell said in a statement. "Not being allowed to play on my team with the other girls would disconnect me from so many of my friends and make school so much harder."

"I’m a transgender girl, I’ve known that my whole life and everyone knows I’m a girl," Turmelle said in a statement. "I don’t understand why I shouldn’t get to have the same opportunities as other girls at school."

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Both have been taking puberty-blocking medication to prevent bodily changes such as muscle development, facial hair growth or a deepening voice that might add to that distress.

The suit was filed the same day the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to reject a Biden administration emergency request to enforce portions of a new rule that includes protections from discrimination for transgender students under Title IX. 

The request would have permitted biological men in women’s bathrooms, locker rooms and dorms in 10 states where there are state-level and local-level rules in place to prevent it. 

More than two dozen Republican attorneys general sued over the rule and argued it would conflict with some of their state laws that block transgender students from participating in women’s sports.

The Associated Press and Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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