The United States Supreme Court ruled to uphold a ban in Tennessee preventing transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming care in the state.
The court's justices voted 6-3 regarding a case from Tennessee that protects many of President Donald Trump's administration's efforts from legal challenges in rolling back safety protections for transgender people.
Supreme Court's Decision on Gender-Affirming Care
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a conservative majority, noting that the law that bans the use of puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender minors does not violate the Constitution's equal protection clause. This requires the government to treat similarly situated people in the same way.
Roberts said that the Tennessee case carries with it the "weight of fierce scientific and policy debates" that talk about safety efficacy, and propriety of medical treatments in an evolving field. He added that these different voices raise sincere concerns, and the implications of which are "profound."
The chief justice noted that the "Equal Protection Clause" does not resolve these disagreements, and it also does not afford them the license to decide as they see fit. On the other hand, Justice Sonia Sotomayor summarized in the courtroom in a dissent for the court's three liberal justices, according to the Associated Press.
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She said, "By retreating from meaningful judicial review where it matters most, the court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims. In sadness, I dissent." Sotomayor added that the Tennessee law in question also limits parents' decision-making for their kids' healthcare.
The Supreme Court's decision comes amid ongoing federal and state efforts to regulate the lives of transgender people in the United States. These include areas such as sports competitions they can participate in, and which bathrooms they can use.
A Big Loss for Transgender People
To note, gender dysphoria is the clinical diagnosis for an individual's significant distress resulting from an incongruence with their gender identity and birth-assigned sex. A transgender American Civil Liberties lawyer, Chase Strangio, said the Supreme Court's decision is a "devastating loss for transgender people, our families, and everyone who cares about the Constitution," Reuters reported.
The development comes despite former President Joe Biden's administration joining the case in support of transgender families. In a social media post, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said the decision was a "landmark victory."
He said that the Supreme Court's ruling was a "big win" for evidence-based medicine, democracy, and allows state governments to decide what laws should be implemented, as per BBC.
