Decision Disregards Decades of Medical Consensus, Puts Youth and Families  at Risk

Washington, DC — In a grave setback for civil rights and public health, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today in United States v. Skrmetti to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The decision disregards decades of medical consensus and opens the doors for further government-sanctioned discrimination in more than two dozen states.

In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor was unequivocal: “The Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims. In sadness, I dissent.”

“This is a devastating and deeply dangerous decision that carries irreversible harm to transgender youth and their families. The majority’s opinion politicizes decades of medical consensus, ignores the Constitution’s mandate of equal protection, and turns its back on youth and their families,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Our team at Democracy Forward will continue to work every day to support transgender people, including young people, their families, and communities, and we will never give up making the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law a reality for all people.”  

This is the first time the Supreme Court has weighed in on a ban targeting gender-affirming medical care. Today’s ruling will disrupt the lives of thousands of young people and families across the country, especially in states with similar laws. It will force families to move across state lines, go without care, or endure state surveillance. 

Read the decision here.

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.