Heightened Scrutiny

Heightened Scrutiny, dir. Sam Feder, 2025, USA, 85 min.
Thursday, June 20, 2025, 7:00pm ACT Toni Rembe Theater

Update: on June 18, the Supreme Court 🤬 upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors in the Skrmetti case.

Heightened Scrutiny

In December 2024, Chase Strangio became the first openly trans attorney to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, fighting to overturn Tennessee’s outright ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth. The case, United States v. Skrmetti, is still awaiting a ruling, expected some time this month, before the Court’s summer recess.

In Heightened Scrutiny, we see Chase develop his legal strategy, beginning by arguing against Idaho’s ban on gender-affirming care at the Ninth Circuit (Poe v. Labrador), and we also get interviews with familiar faces including Jelani Cobb and Laverne Cox. Elliott Page makes a cameo appearance, although he doesn’t speak on camera. We see clips of various media, including the pipeline of Fox News to judicial rulings. In the Idaho case, one of the original sponsors of the bill went on a podcast, openly declaring his goal of ending all gender-affirming care for everyone, including adults.

Trans people, and especially trans youth, have become the perverse obsession of the right wing and MAGA, with unprecedented assaults on their safety and on their very existence. Chase Strangio is fighting to preserve some sanity in our legal system, but he does it with a sense of humor, and finds joy even in the darkest moments. The other people interviewed for this documentary provide important context and perspective, giving us a well-rounded view of the case and the stakes involved.

Heightened Scrutiny is definitely a must see, although you may well have the benefit of knowing the outcome of Skrmetti.

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