Supreme Court Challenges Tennessee’s Ban on Transgender Medical Care

The Supreme Court of the US made a decision on the legality of Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors

The case of Tennessee ban has introduced implications for the nationwide transgender minors and their rights and access to health care. The Biden administration challenged the Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. 

Tennessee’s ban on the use of hormone treatment and puberty blockers for the minors of the transgender community came into picture and took effect last year in July. The preliminary decision was made in the state’s favor by a panel of three judges of the US Circuit Court of Appeals. 

The Biden administration petitioned on behalf of trans youth and their families, as a result they challenged the state of Tennessee ban and the court which will be held in October. The Supreme Court of the US made a decision on the legality of Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. The court agreed to raise a question of whether the bans are unconstitutional as the justices waded into another contentious issue implicating LGBTQ+ rights.

According to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ rights think tank, there are more than 20 states in the US that exercise such similar bans. The Supreme court’s judgement will apply to these states as well. 

It is marked to be the first time the court that has a conservative majority will issue a ruling battle over transgender rights for teenagers. This has spiked rage in the health and education context. It is also unusual for the Supreme Court to take this case into consideration as it had declined any interference on issues relating to the transgender rights. This included cases on school sports, bathroom access, protection under the disability law and confidential support for trans children in school. This inaction has repeatedly granted wins to LGBTQ+ advocates.

There are three teenagers that ranged in age from 13 to 16 who were given puberty blockers because they identified differently and transitioned away from their sex assigned at birth. The families of the teenagers argue that this law breaches the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the law. The parents fight for their right of choice of their children’s medical treatment. 

The Supreme Court was urged by Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar to take up the issue, stating that the law “is part of a wave of similar bans preventing transgender adolescents from obtaining medical care that they, their parents, and their doctors have all concluded is necessary.”

The gender-affirming treatments are the most effective way to treat gender dysphoria as per major medical organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association. Dysphoria is the clinical term used for the mental and physical pain that people suffer when their identified gender differs from the genders assigned to them at birth.

The Supreme Court justices have agreed to attend and hear the claim that Tennessee’s law retracted trans minors from equal protection of the law. Precisely it allows the use of hormone treatments for some minors to those who hit puberty too early but does not allow the treatment for trans patients under 18. In a separate case, the Biden administration pushed the court to take into consideration the more limited question. In specification where the law laws should be subjected to more rigorous judicial scrutiny.

In the history of cases relating to the LGBTQ community, the Supreme Court has intervened three times. The most recent case was in 2020 where the justice ruled and declared the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This act bans the discrimination to gay, lesbian, and transgender employees in terms of employment. 

At present there are about 25 Republican-states that have implied various bans on the gender affirming hormone treatments for minors. Tennessee’s law along with many other laws also bans surgeries. Although surgery is not a part of this case.