The US Supreme Court has upheld a Trump administration ban on passports designating the holder's gender as “X” or different from the one assigned at birth.
Donald Trump’s administration issued the policy on 20 January, the day of his inauguration, asserting that only male and female genders, defined at birth, would officially be recognised.
This reversed reforms introduced by former President Joe Biden, under which the State Department had begun issuing passports with the option to mark “X” as gender or a gender differing from birth records.
The policy faced legal challenges: it was suspended in lower courts in June and during an appeal in September.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court lifted the suspension, with its six conservative justices outvoting the three liberal ones.
The Court argued that listing a passport holder’s birth gender is no more discriminatory than indicating their country of birth. Both are factual details certified by the government, it said.
Thursday's decision was criticised by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a prominent civil rights group, which called it a step backwards with regard to protecting individuals’ rights to self-identify.
"This is a heartbreaking setback for the freedom of all people to be themselves, and fuel on the fire the Trump administration is stoking against transgender people and their constitutional rights," Senior ACLU counsel Jon Davidson said in a statement.
Davidson condemned the Supreme Court order and said the legal fight would continue.
Further cases are expected in the coming months, including deliberations on transgender participation in women’s sports competitions.
