Kristen Chapman moved from Tennessee to Virginia so her 15- year-old transgender daughter could continue receiving gender-affirming care. On Monday, June 24, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear a case challenging Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care to minors. (Photo by John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
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The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday morning it would take up a challenge to Tennessee’s 2023 ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal asked the court to review a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that upheld the law.
Tennessee’s law prohibits doctors from providing gender-affirming medical care to minors that includes puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries.
“Tennesseans deserve the freedom to live their lives as their authentic selves without government interference, yet every day this law remains in place, it inflicts further pain and injustice on trans youth and their families,” said Lucas Cameron-Vaughn, staff attorney for the ACLU of Tennessee. “The Court has the power to protect trans youth’s right to access the health care they need by striking down this discriminatory law.”
Legal advocates initially sued Tennessee on behalf of Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville and their 15-year-old transgender daughter, two other plaintiff families filing anonymously, and Memphis-based doctor Dr. Susan Lacy.
In a statement, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said, “We fought hard to defend Tennessee’s law protecting kids from irreversible gender treatments and secured a thoughtful and well-reasoned opinion from the Sixth Circuit. I look forward to finishing the fight in the United States Supreme Court. This case will bring much-needed clarity to whether the Constitution contains special protections for gender identity.”
“As the Supreme Court takes up United States vs. Skrmetti et al, we trust that the Court will recognize the ways Tennessee, in banning [gender-affirming] care, has sought to undermine trust and communication [between doctor and patient], blocking access to lifesaving health services for our state’s gender-diverse children,” said Dahron Johnson with the Tennessee Equality Project.
The Biden administration also asked the court to review the case under federal law allowing the government to intervene in private cases alleging violations of the right to equal protection under the law.
Justices will hear United States vs. Skrmetti in the fall and a decision is expected by June or July 2025.
This story was first published in the Tennessee Lookout, a member with the Phoenix in the nonprofit States Newsroom network.
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