On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Biden administration’s challenge to a bill passed by the Tennessee General Assembly that bans medicines and procedures that attempt to transition children to the opposite sex.
This marks the first time that the high court will rule on the constitutionality of banning “gender-affirming care.” The case will be heard in the fall and a decision is expected in June 2025.
Tennessee’s Ban
Tennessee’s bill went into effect on July 1, 2023. It bans the administration and performance of “gender-affirming” medicine and procedures for minors with “gender dysphoria.” The law does not prohibit treatment for medical conditions relating to children’s development, such as precocious puberty.
Children in Tennessee had until the end of May 2024 to wean themselves off of their cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers.
Challenges to the “Gender-Affirming” Prohibition
The Department of Justice filed a complaint in April last year that challenged Tennessee’s bill based on the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The press release states that the bill “denies necessary medical care to youth based solely on who they are.”
The department claims that the law is discriminatory by prohibiting treatment for gender dysphoria while allowing it for other conditions such as precocious puberty.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the argument before the Supreme Court picked it up. Similar prohibitions in other states have received mixed rulings.
Effects Throughout America
Tennessee is one of 25 states with bans on “gender-affirming care.” The majority of Americans, 66 percent according to statistician Ryan Burge, believe it should be illegal for healthcare providers to attempt “transition” minors. (READ MORE: Transgender ‘Care’ in North America: The Island of Dr. Moreau)
The fate of many children is in the hands of SCOTUS’ nine justices.
