politico
Supreme Court upholds Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors
The ruling was 6-3 along ideological lines.
The Supreme Court has upheld a Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors.
In a 6-3 ruling Wednesday, the court’s conservative majority rejected a challenge from transgender adolescents and their families who argued that the ban violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection.
Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that the ban, passed in 2023, does not discriminate against people based on their “transgender status.” The majority also rejected arguments from the law’s challengers that it amounts to unconstitutional discrimination on the basis of sex.
“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,” Roberts wrote.
The court’s liberals dissented, arguing that the law clearly draws sex-based distinctions and that Tennessee should have been required to prove in court the measure was necessary to advance an important state interest.
REACTION TO RULING
“The rapid and unexplained rise in the number of kids seeking these life-altering interventions, despite the lack of supporting evidence, calls for careful scrutiny from our elected leaders. … Today’s landmark decision recognizes that the Constitution lets us fulfill society’s highest calling — protecting our kids.”
Jonathan Skrmetti, Tennessee Attorney General