Supreme Court will hear case on Tennessee law banning transgender surgeries for minors

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 23, 2024 / 11:40 am

The United States Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case to determine the legality of a Tennessee law that prohibits doctors from performing so-called transgender surgeries on minors and prevents doctors from prescribing them puberty blockers and hormones.

The law is facing a legal challenge from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ administration as well as from three families in the state.

Although the case only addresses Tennessee’s law specifically, a Supreme Court ruling could set a nationwide precedent that would apply to state laws around the country that prohibit gender transition surgeries and drugs for children. More than 20 states restrict or prohibit doctors from performing such surgeries or providing such drugs for patients under the age of 18.

The court scheduled oral arguments for the case to be heard in December — less than two years after Gov. Bill Lee signed the prohibition into law.

State law prohibits doctors from performing surgery on a minor’s genitals that are intended to make them resemble the genitals of the opposite sex. It also prohibits chest surgeries and other aesthetic surgeries intended to make the child appear more similar to the opposite sex.

The law further prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers, which delay a child’s natural development during puberty, if the intention is to facilitate a gender transition. It also prevents doctors from prescribing estrogen to boys and testosterone to girls if the intention is to facilitate a gender transition.

Doctors and health care providers can incur a $25,000 penalty for violating the state law.

A report published earlier this month by the medical watchdog group Do No Harm found that doctors in the United States provided at least 13,994 children with either transgender drugs or surgeries. The report identified more than 5,700 children receiving transgender surgeries but also noted that these numbers are likely higher because some data isn’t publicly available.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is defending the law in court against challenges from the Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) and three Tennessee families represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee.

A complaint filed by the DOJ refers to transgender drugs and surgeries for minors as “medically necessary care.” It argues that the state law violates the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution by discriminating “on the basis of sex and on the basis of transgender status in violation of the equal protection clause.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson told CNA that the DOJ does not comment on pending litigation. 

The ACLU filing with the Supreme Court makes similar arguments, stating that “discrimination based on a person’s transgender status necessarily imposes differential treatment based, in part, on that person’s sex assigned at birth.” 

The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment guarantees every person “equal protection of the laws” in every state.

CNA reached out to the Tennessee ACLU for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. In a post on X, the Tennessee ACLU wrote that “trans youth deserve the same chance to thrive as their peers.”

“Trans youth deserve a future,” the post read. “Gender-affirming care is life-saving care, and we’re ready to stand for it boldly. Tennessee, we’ll see you in court.”

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Tennessee attorney general’s office referred CNA to an Oct. 18 op-ed published by Skrmetti in The Hill.

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“Many doctors, states, and countries share Tennessee’s view on gender-transition interventions for minors; the federal government and others do not,” Skrmetti wrote.

“People who disagree with Tennessee’s law can advocate for a different law through the democratic process,” he added. “While the federal government is free to favor its transition-first, ask-questions-later approach, the Constitution does not bind Tennessee to that same choice.”