High court upholds ban on gender-affirming care for minors in Tennessee
By: Maureen Groppe
USA today
WASHINGTON- The Supreme Court on June 18 [2025] upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors, a major setback for transgender Americans as conservative states and the Trump administration have pushed policies targeting them.
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The 6-3 decision came about five years after the court ruled that transgender people, as well as gay and lesbian people, are protected by a landmark civil rights law barring sex discrimination in the workplace.
..... But in this case, the court said that preventing minors form using puberty blockers and hormone therapy does not need extra scrutiny under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which requires the government to treat similarly situation people the same.
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The Biden administration and the families that challenged the law argued it discriminated against transgender people because a teen whose sex assigned at birth is male may be given testosterone too treat delayed puberty. But a teen assigned female at birth who wants testosterone to treat gender dysphoria may not have it.
..... Tennessee countered hat the treatment have different risks and benefits when used by transgender youth, who need to be protected from life-altering consequences.
..... After the case was argued in December, [2024] the justice Department under President Donald Trump told the court t was no longer challenging Tennessee's law.
..... since 2022, the number of states taking steps to limit access to gender-affirming care for minors grew from four to about half. states have also taken steps to restrict the bathrooms transgender students can use, what sports teams they can join and where they can change the sex designation on their birth certificates.
..... When families with transgender children challenged bans on gender-affirming care, district courts largely sided with them and blocked enforcement. but three appeals courts upheld the laws, including the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Tennessee's law was the first to reach the Supreme Court.
..... During the December [2024] oral arguments, several of the conservative justices voiced support for taking a similar approach to what the court did when it overturned Roe v. Wade, finding there's no constitutional barrier to the issue at hand and leaving it up to state and federal legislatures to decide.
..... "My understanding is the Constitution leaves that question to the people's representatives, rather than to view people, none of whom is a doctor,: Chief Justice John Roberts said during December's [2024] debate.
..... The court's liberal justices had argued that the court can't ignore constitutional protections, particularly for the vulnerable.
..... "That's a question for the court," Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said.
..... Gender-affirming care for minors is supported by every major medical organization, including the American Medical association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association.