Critics Decry SCOTUS Ruling Upholding Tennessee’s Ban on Gender-Affirming Care

On Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court ruled to uphold a Tennessee law that bans physicians from providing gender-affirming care to transgender children, a decision that will likely reverberate across the more than two dozen states that have similar bans.

Critics decried the decision as denying trans kids access to safe and critical health care options. Gender-affirming care, including for youth, is endorsed by the vast majority of respected health organizations, and is considered to be life-saving by many who receive it.

All six conservative justices on the high court sided with Tennessee lawmakers, who argued that their ban should be allowed to operate. All three liberal justices dissented from the ruling.

Tennessee’s law (and others like it across the country) bans the use of surgery, puberty blockers and hormone therapy for young transgender people. Such bans are not in place for cisgender children seeking similar treatments.

Surgery is a rarely-used option for anyone under the age of 18 in the U.S. when it comes to gender-affirming care, only considered for transgender youth in the gravest of circumstances, such as to save their lives. Puberty blockers and hormone therapies are more commonly used, and are viewed as both safe and effective treatments.

Chief Justice John Roberts authored the opinion of the court, stating that 14th Amendment arguments brought forward by the plaintiffs weren’t sufficient to block the state’s ban.

“The voices in these debates raise sincere concerns; the implications for all are profound. The Equal Protection Clause does not resolve these disagreements,” Roberts wrote.

In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that the conservative majority’s ruling “abandons transgender children and their families to political whims” of lawmakers across the country.

“In sadness, I dissent,” she added.

While the arguments in this case relating to the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment were rejected by the Supreme Court, other arguments citing that amendment could head to the Court in the future — including in cases on whether bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth violate the rights of parents to make health care decisions for their children.

Several organizations spoke out against the ruling, saying it was likely to cause tremendous harm to trans youth across the U.S.

“It is deeply troubling to see the country’s highest court decide that politicians can make certain medicines illegal for some young people, while allowing them to remain readily accessible for others,” read a statement from Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project. “That is discrimination. Period.”

Black noted that The Trevor Project has recently published a peer-reviewed study showing that “anti-transgender state laws — like the one upheld in this case — directly caused an increase in suicide attempts among transgender youth by up to 72 percent.”

“We remain committed to working with our partners and allies across the country to ensure that all young people can lead safe, healthy, and full lives — without being discriminated against for who they are,” Black said.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyer Chase Strangio, who argued on behalf of trans children and their families in the case before the Supreme Court last fall, said the ruling “is a devastating loss for transgender people, our families, and everyone who cares about the Constitution.”

Sasha Buchert, counsel and director of the Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project at Lambda Legal, also decried the decision.

“This is a heartbreaking ruling, making it more difficult for transgender youth to escape the danger and trauma of being denied their ability to live and thrive,” Buchert said. “But we will continue to fight fiercely to protect them.”

Tyler Hack, founder of the Christopher Street Project, also blasted the ruling, saying that the fight to protect transgender youth would continue.

Said Hack:

There aren’t words strong enough to describe how shameful, cruel, and morally corrupt this ruling is. Access to gender-affirming care is life-or-death for our trans siblings in Tennessee, and this ruling has just approved the transphobic legislation of 25 other states.

“This is not the end of this battle,” Hack went on to say. “The courage and defiance that trans Tennesseans and their loved ones have shown in this fight is our playbook to keep going. We will continue fighting for all families’ ability to get the healthcare they need, and for the right to control our own futures.”