Supreme Court decides future of youth transgender care

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The Supreme Court began hearing arguments today in a pivotal transgender rights case, challenging Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The outcome, expected in several months, could influence similar legislation in 25 other states and broader transgender rights issues.

This case emerges before a conservative-majority court amid campaign promises from Donald Trump and his supporters to reduce transgender protections.

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson just compared Tennessee banning minors from getting transgender surgeries to banning interracial marriage. She is a moron. No lawyer with a functional brain would make this argument. pic.twitter.com/oPFNyfJiO7

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 4, 2024

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In a landmark ruling four years ago, the court sided with Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman terminated from her position at a Michigan funeral home after disclosing her identity. That decision established workplace discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ individuals under federal civil rights law.

The Biden administration and plaintiffs are asking justices to apply similar reasoning as the previous case, where both liberal and conservative justices acknowledged discrimination based on sex characteristics.

The current dispute centers on whether Tennessee’s law violates 14th Amendment equal protection requirements. Chase Strangio, making history as the first openly transgender Supreme Court advocate, leads the challenge against Tennessee’s selective ban on puberty blockers and hormone treatments.

The Justice Department contends that determining treatment eligibility based on a minor’s sex constitutes discrimination. “That is sex discrimination,” wrote Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar in court documents.

Tennessee officials defend the law, arguing it protects minors from “life-altering gender-transition procedures” rather than discriminating based on sex. Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti maintains the law distinguishes between transition-related and other medical uses, affecting both genders equally.

This matter should not be subject to debate. It should be made illegal nationwide. How is this concept so difficult for the left to comprehend?

Supreme Court to confront gender-affirming care for transgender minors pic.twitter.com/s3hZSkGUOz

— Rob (@_ROB_29) December 3, 2024

Legal arguments focus on determining appropriate scrutiny levels – from rational basis review, typically favoring law enforcement, to heightened scrutiny requiring stronger state justification.

While major American medical organizations endorse gender-affirming youth care, Tennessee cites European health authorities’ concerns about treatment risks. The administration notes these countries haven’t implemented similar bans.

The impact of Tennessee’s law reaches families like the Williamses, whose transgender daughter must travel out-of-state for continued treatment that has helped her thrive and plan for college.