Advocates Warn Decision Will Embolden Attacks on Transgender Rights Nationwide.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming medical treatments for minors, marking a significant blow to transgender rights and opening the door for similar laws to remain in effect across the country.
In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, the court’s conservative majority found that the state’s restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender youth do not violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, stated that the law treats individuals based on the purpose of treatment rather than on sex or gender identity.
The decision shields Tennessee’s 2023 law from further legal challenge and has sweeping implications for the 26 other states with comparable legislation. The ruling affirms the ability of state legislatures to regulate access to gender-affirming healthcare for minors, despite objections from medical organizations and LGBTQ+ advocates.
In a sharp dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor criticized the ruling for abandoning transgender children to what she called “the political whims” of state lawmakers. Reading part of her opinion aloud from the bench, she said, “In sadness, I dissent,” and argued that the court was failing to safeguard constitutional rights, particularly the rights of families to make healthcare decisions for their children.
GLAAD’s President and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, issued a statement which says, “Today, the Supreme Court took the place of parents and doctors and stripped away their ability to make private, lifesaving decisions for their children. This ruling is a chilling step toward unchecked government overreach, intruding on the most personal aspects of our private lives. All families are now less safe and left vulnerable to politicians and a Court that has abandoned its duty to protect personal liberties.
The case arrives amid a wave of efforts by state governments and federal officials aligned with President Donald Trump’s administration to curtail rights and healthcare access for transgender individuals. Measures targeting transgender participation in school sports, access to bathrooms, and healthcare have advanced across Republican-led states in recent years.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center said, in a press release, “Today, the Los Angeles LGBT Center mourns the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth in United States v. Skrmetti.
This decision marks a devastating failure to uphold the basic constitutional rights of transgender young people. By finding that Tennessee’s law does not draw a sex-based (or trans based) distinction—and thus only requires rational basis review—this Court has allowed a blatantly discriminatory law to remain in effect.
The result is both cruel and dangerous. Tennessee’s ban prohibits medically necessary, evidence-based care—such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy—for transgender minors, while still permitting those same treatments for cisgender youth. It is a clear act of discrimination, rooted not in science or medical best practice, but in political ideology.”
The ruling could further embolden similar legal strategies across the nation. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than half of U.S. states now have laws or policies restricting youth access to gender-affirming care.
