The US Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Wednesday upheld the state of Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
In a 6–3 decision in United States v. Skrmetti, the justices found that Tennessee’s law is not unconstitutional. The central issue of the case was whether Tennessee’s ban violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which states that the government cannot discriminate against individuals based on their race, gender, or other characteristics. The ruling does not affect states where gender-affirming care for youth remains legal, but establishes the precedent that states can ban this kind of treatment.
The lawsuit was brought to the court by three transgender teenagers and their