Supreme Court Affirms Tennessee’s Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Transgender Youth In Major Setback For Trans Rights Movement

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled on Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The Court ruled 6-3, upholding Tennessee’s ban and marking a significant setback for transgender rights.

This court ruling is a win for the Trump administration and President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda. Trump and Republican officials at the state level have been trying to repeal regulations on care for trans people. Twenty-six other states have similar legislation to Tennessee’s.

Since Trump’s return to the White House, many states have limited rights for trans individuals, while other states have sought to protect trans individuals’ rights.

The states that have provided protections for gender-affirming care for minors are Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Oregon, and Washington.

The states that have active restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors are Florida, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, West Virginia, Ohio, Iowa, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who leads the conservative judicial majority in the Supreme Court, wrote that the ban on gender-affirming care didn’t violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause. “This case carries with it the weight of fierce scientific and policy debates about the safety, efficacy, and propriety of medical treatments in an evolving field,” Roberts wrote. “The voices in these debates raise sincere concerns; the implications for all are profound. The Equal Protection Clause does not resolve these disagreements. Nor does it afford us license to decide them as we see best.”

For the three liberal justices, Justice Sonia Sotomayor provided the dissent for the decision: “By retreating from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most, the Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims. In sadness, I dissent.” Sotomayor also stated that the Court’s ruling would affect and limit parents’ power to make decisions regarding their children’s healthcare.

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Article by Sherry Chen

Sherry Chen is a uPolitics writer.