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Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee's Gender-Affirming Care Ban Amidst Controversy

The U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling on Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors has ignited debate over transgender rights and healthcare access.

Overview

A summary of the key points of this story verified across multiple sources.

  • The Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors in a 6-3 decision, impacting similar laws across the U.S.
  • Justice Clarence Thomas expressed concerns over the speed of medical treatments for children and questioned the evidence supporting gender interventions.
  • Dissenting Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that the ruling could cause harm to transgender children, reflecting a divide among justices.
  • The decision has drawn mixed reactions from family groups, with some supporting the ruling and others voicing concerns for transgender youth.
  • The ruling intensifies the ongoing debate over transgender rights and healthcare access, highlighting a divided public opinion and political landscape.

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Articles (77)

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"…The ruling, led by the court’s conservatives, is a major loss for the transgender community at an extremely vulnerable moment."

Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors
Mother JonesMother Jones·6d·
Left
This outlet favors left-wing views.

"…The ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti dictates that state laws prohibiting gender-affirming hormone therapies and puberty-pausing medications for transgender youth are constitutional."

Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee Law Banning Care for Trans Kids
Rolling StoneRolling Stone·6d·
Left
This outlet favors left-wing views.

"…His decision for the court, handed down on Wednesday, is an incoherent mess of contradiction and casuistry, a travesty of legal writing that injects immense, gratuitous confusion into the law of equal protection."

John Roberts’ Anti-Trans Opinion Isn’t Just Cruel. It’s Incomprehensible.
SlateSlate·6d·
Left
This outlet favors left-wing views.

"…the Roberts Court’s decision in Skrmetti, which effectively bans gender-affirming care for trans minors in more than 20 states."

SCOTUS Just Declared Open Season on Trans Rights
SlateSlate·6d·
Left
This outlet favors left-wing views.

"…The decision was fractured among the justices, with many writing independently, though all three liberals dissented."

Supreme Court Lets Red States Deny Care For Trans Youth
TPMTPM·6d·
Leans Left
This outlet slightly leans left.

"…The ruling is a major blow to transgender Americans’ rights and protections, which have been under attack at the state and federal level."

How Supreme Court Trans Health Care Ruling Will Affect Kids
Scientific AmericanScientific American·6d·
Leans Left
This outlet slightly leans left.

"…The Court’s Republicans, in other words, could have applied existing law, sent the case back down to the lower courts to apply this “heightened scrutiny,” and then ruled on the bans in a future case."

The Supreme Court’s incoherent new attack on trans rights, explained
VoxVox·6d·
Leans Left
This outlet slightly leans left.

"…There is nothing good to say about the hash of opinions from the conservative justices."

The Supreme Court’s Cruel Alternative Reality for Trans People
New York MagazineNew York Magazine·6d·
Leans Left
This outlet slightly leans left.

"…The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming surgery for transgender youth in a ruling that’s likely to reverberate across the country."

What to know about the Supreme Court's ruling on transgender care for youth
PBS NewsHourPBS NewsHour·6d·
Leans Left
This outlet slightly leans left.

"…All queer people – and all cis women who aspire to be free – have had their dignity demeaned as a result."

The US supreme court just undermined gender equality | Moira Donegan
The GuardianThe Guardian·6d·
Leans Left
This outlet slightly leans left.

"…The decision left Meredithe McNamara, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine who specializes in adolescent medicine, “devastated and scared”."

Court’s gender-affirming care ruling will impair all sex-based rights, say critics
The GuardianThe Guardian·6d·
Leans Left
This outlet slightly leans left.

"…A Tennessee state law banning gender-affirming care for minors can stand, the US supreme court has ruled, a devastating loss for trans rights supporters in a case that could set a precedent for dozens of other lawsuits involving the rights of transgender children."

US supreme court upholds Tennessee ban on youth gender-affirming care
The GuardianThe Guardian·6d·
Leans Left
This outlet slightly leans left.

"…The Supreme Court has delivered a major blow to transgender rights with its decision to uphold a Tennessee law that bars doctors from providing gender-affirming care including puberty blockers, hormones, and surgical procedures for trans minors in the state."

Supreme Court Upholds Gender-Affirming-Care Ban
TIME MagazineTIME Magazine·6d·
Leans Left
This outlet slightly leans left.

"…The Supreme Court's decision is a devastating loss for transgender people, our families, and everyone who cares about the Constitution."

Supreme Court upholds Tennessee law barring gender-affirming care for youth
Al JazeeraAl Jazeera·6d·
Leans Left
This outlet slightly leans left.

"…The conservative Supreme Court dealt a significant blow to transgender Americans on Wednesday, issuing a sweeping decision that may have implications beyond the medical care that was at center of one of the court’s highest-profile disputes this year."

Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s historic decision on transgender care | Politics
CNNCNN·6d·
Leans Left
This outlet slightly leans left.

"…The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Tennessee law restricting gender transition care for minors, delivering a major blow to transgender rights."

Supreme Court upholds Tennessee ban on transgender youth medical care
NBC NewsNBC News·6d·
Center
This outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.

"…The Supreme Court's decision effectively protects from legal challenges many efforts by President Donald Trump’s Republican administration and state governments to roll back protections for transgender people."

Supreme Court OKs Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for kids, a setback for transgender rights
Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-Times·6d·
Center
This outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.

"…Wednesday's Supreme Court decision was a big win for Tennessee and 24 other states, but there are many questions that remain unanswered."

Supreme Court upholds Tennessee law that bars gender-affirming care for minors
NPRNPR·6d·
Center
This outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.

"…This decision upholds a dangerous and deeply unjust law that strips families of their rights, criminalizes love and support and puts the lives of young people at risk."

'Cruelty over care': Transgender care advocates blast Supreme Court
USA TODAYUSA TODAY·6d·
Center
This outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.

"…The decision − one of the court's biggest this year − came about five years after the court ruled that transgender people, as well as gay and lesbian people, are protected by a landmark civil rights law barring sex discrimination in the workplace."

Supreme Court upholds state ban on transgender minors using puberty blockers, hormone therapy
USA TODAYUSA TODAY·6d·
Center
This outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.

"…The Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law that restricts access to gender-affirming care for minors experiencing gender dysphoria, a decision that is likely to have broad implications for access to medical treatments for transgender youth in half of the country."

Supreme Court upholds Tennessee law restricting gender-affirming care for transgender minors
CBS NewsCBS News·6d·
Center
This outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.

"…The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming surgery for transgender youth in a ruling that’s likely to reverberate across the country."

What to know about the impacts of the Supreme Court's ruling on transgender care for youth
Associated PressAssociated Press·6d·
Center
This outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.

"…The Supreme Court's decision effectively protects from legal challenges many efforts by President Donald Trump’s Republican administration and state governments to roll back protections for transgender people."

Supreme Court OKs Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for kids, a setback for transgender rights
Associated PressAssociated Press·6d·
Center
This outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.

"…The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's leading LGBTQ civil rights group, described the decision as "devastating.""

US Supreme Court upholds Tennessee ban on gender transition care for minors
BBC NewsBBC News·6d·
Center
This outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.

"…The justices' response to the facts presented in the case indicates just how much the culture war battle over childhood gender transition has affected the ability to create a scientific consensus around these treatments."

SCOTUS upholds Tennessee law banning medical transition for transgender kids
ReasonReason·6d·
Center
This outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.

"…The Supreme Court issued five opinions today, most notably its decision in United States v. Skrmetti, rejecting a constitutional challenge to a Tennessee law prohibiting certain medical treatments for gender dysphoria for minors."

Supreme Court Rejects Constitutional Challenge to State Limits on Sex Transition Treatments for Minors
ReasonReason·6d·
Center
This outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.

"…This case serves as a useful reminder that the American people and their representatives are entitled to disagree with those who hold themselves out as experts."

Court Upholds Tennessee Restriction on Youth Gender Medicine
ReasonReason·6d·
Center
This outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.

"…The court affirmed that there’s a rational basis for the Tennessee law, given the adverse risks of transgender treatments and the possibility that children will regret them."

SCOTUS: State law against trans hormones for minors can stay
World News GroupWorld News Group·6d·
Leans Right
This outlet slightly leans right.

"…The ruled Wednesday that a Tennessee law banning specific transgender medical treatments for adolescents in the state is not discriminatory, ruling 6-3 to uphold the law."

Politics Newsletter: SCOTUS Upholds Ban on Trans Treatments for Minors
FOX NewsFOX News·6d·
Leans Right
This outlet slightly leans right.

"…The court’s task is not, he adds, “to judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic” of the law."

Transgender Rights Go to the Laboratory of the States
New York SunNew York Sun·6d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…The landmark ruling deals a bruising blow to the transgender rights movement, which in recent years has placed advocating for and protecting children’s access to gender-transition medications at the forefront of its increasingly demoralized civil-rights mission."

Supreme Court Ruling on Gender Treatments for Minors is Major Blow to Transgender Movement, But Could Be Narrower Than Trump Administration Hopes
New York SunNew York Sun·6d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…Despite the fact that the majority of Americans, regardless of political party, believe children should not be subject to such irreversible procedures, mainstream media reporters still referred to the High Court’s ruling as a “major setback” or a “devastating loss.”"

Legacy Media Ditches Journalism To Cover Supreme Court’s Ruling On Trans Procedure Ban
The Daily WireThe Daily Wire·6d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…Tennessee’s law blocks all transgender medical treatments on children, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries."

Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee’s Ban On Transgender Drugs For Children
The Daily WireThe Daily Wire·7d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…In the case of child sex changes, experts relied on poorly done studies and the word of "expert" activists rather than common sense about what's best for children."

Justice Thomas takes aim at ‘expert’ class in concurrence banning child sex changes
The Post MillennialThe Post Millennial·5d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…The ruling will help protect 26 similar state laws and return common sense to America’s medical system."

BREAKING: Supreme Court upholds Tennessee’s ban on child sex changes
The Post MillennialThe Post Millennial·6d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a Tennessee law banning sex changes for minors."

Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee Law Banning Sex Changes for Minors
Breitbart NewsBreitbart News·6d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…The ruling, backed by all six conservative justices and opposed by the three liberal justices, allows Tennessee to enforce its 2023 law."

Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee Ban on Puberty Blockers for Minors
Washington Free BeaconWashington Free Beacon·6d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…The Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law prohibiting “sex transition treatments” for minors, more precisely described as “elective mutilations for children.”"

Pro-Mutilation Trans Attorney Smacked Down By Supreme Court
Daily CallerDaily Caller·6d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…Wu accused Strangio of expanding “what transsexual is to absolutely absurd degrees,” making it hard for them to defend any reasonable set of transgender rights in the courts for an all-or-nothing approach."

‘Hell Is Not Enough For You’: SCOTUS Decision On Child Sex Changes Sparks Trans Infighting
Daily CallerDaily Caller·6d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…Justice Sonia Sotomayor shared her “sadness” Wednesday that children would no longer be able to access experimental and irreversible transgender procedures."

Liberal Justice Reveals Her ‘Sadness’ As SCOTUS Saves Kids From Chemical Castrations
Daily CallerDaily Caller·6d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…The ruling has major legal implications for the 26 other states with similar bans on youth transgender procedures, Hans Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told CBN News."

Family Groups Applaud Major Trans Ruling: 'The Supreme Court Looked at the Science'
CBNCBN·5d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…This decision bodes well for the similar laws in at least 26 other states protecting children from these barbaric practices."

Supreme Court Upholds State Law Protecting Gender-Confused Minors
CBNCBN·6d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…This decision means that gender-related laws like SB1 are in the broad category of matters, such as regulating the practice of medicine generally, that the people and their elected representatives must handle."

Supreme Court Says the Constitution Does Not Second-Guess the People on 'Gender-Affirming' Care
Daily SignalDaily Signal·6d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

"…The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that states have the constitutional right to pass laws protecting children from irreversible transgender medical interventions."

Supreme Court Rules on Whether States Can Protect Kids From Transgender Procedures
Daily SignalDaily Signal·6d·
Right
This outlet favors right-wing views.

FAQ

Dig deeper on this story with frequently asked questions.

Tennessee's ban prohibits hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers for transgender youth, as well as gender-affirming surgeries, which are rare for minors.

The Supreme Court ruled that Tennessee's ban does not violate the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. Chief Justice Roberts emphasized that while the issue raises sincere concerns, the court's role is limited to assessing constitutional compliance, leaving policy decisions to elected representatives.

The majority expressed concerns about the speed and evidence supporting medical treatments for children, upholding the ban as constitutional. The dissent, led by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, contended that the ruling could cause harm to transgender children, reflecting a deep divide in judicial perspectives.

The ruling has intensified debates on transgender rights and healthcare access, with some family groups supporting the decision while others express concerns about its negative effects on transgender youth. It also influences similar laws in 25 states that have banned or restricted gender-affirming care for minors.

The lawsuit, known as L.W. v. Skrmetti, was filed by the ACLU and Lambda Legal on behalf of families of transgender youth, including Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville and their teenage daughter, as well as Dr. Susan Lacy, a Memphis-based gynecologist providing gender-affirming care.

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