Tennessee Targets Transgender Youth and Bans Them From  Gender-Affirming Health Care 

Washington D.C. – The United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in U.S. v. Skrmetti, a case that could determine if Tennessee is allowed to discriminate against transgender youth by banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy, that notably, the state allows for other youth as medically necessary. This health care helps transgender youth, in consultation with their families and doctors, to live in accordance with their gender identity, when that is different from their sex as designated at birth.

“The US Supreme Court has acknowledged that discriminating on the basis of gender identity is a form of unconstitutional sex discrimination. The Tennessee law being considered in this case is nothing more than discrimination that targets young people on the basis of their gender identity,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of leading pro-democracy legal organization Democracy Forward. “Preventing transgender young people from receiving the health care that they and their doctors agree they need, and further threatening doctors with consequences for providing this healthcare is a clear violation of equal protection under the 14th Amendment. The Supreme Court should make clear that states cannot discriminate against transgender youth by banning medical care for this group alone.” 

This case centers around Tennessee Senate Bill 1, which was enacted in 2023 and bans gender-affirming medical care in the form of hormone treatments solely for transgender youth. The law also allows people to sue physicians and healthcare professionals who violate these rules, with potential consequences, including fines and discipline.

Along with their parents and a doctor who treats transgender patients, three transgender teens  filed a lawsuit against Tennessee officials in federal court, seeking to stop the state from enforcing the ban on gender-affirming hormone care, arguing that on its face, the law discriminates based on sex and is thus, unconstitutional because it violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. If the Supreme Court allows this law to remain in effect, it will embolden the over 20 other states that have similar laws that target transgender people. 

There was significant involvement from experts and outside groups at this stage and earlier in the case. Friend-of-the-court briefs arguing in support of transgender youth and against the discriminatory Tennessee law have been submitted by leading civil-rights groups, women’s rights groups, the American Association of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, international trans-rights organizations, disability rights organizations, and Members of Congress. 

For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org. 

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