← Legal Glossary
But-for causation
Definition
A test asking whether a particular outcome would have been different 'but for' (without) a certain factor. In discrimination law, it asks whether the person would have been treated differently but for their sex, race, or other protected characteristic.
Examples
- •The petitioner argued that sex is a but-for cause of the differential treatment under SB1: if you change Ryan Roe's birth sex from female to male, the law's restriction on his access to testosterone lifts.