Supreme Court To Rule on Constitutionality of Tn Trans Youth Medical Ban

Supreme Court of the United States. (2024, June 27). In Wikipedia.

On Monday the Supreme Court agreed to rule on the constitutionality of the Tennessee Law denying trans youth medical care. The justices agreed to rule on this after receiving a petition by the Biden Administration which alleges that Tennessee violates the 14th Amendment which guarantees equal treatment of all citizens under the law. 

Tennessee's law allows minors diagnosed with precocious puberty to receive the same medical treatment that youth diagnosed with gender dysphoria are being denied by the ban.

Not at issue is the effectiveness of either treatment as they have both been proven safe and are approved by every major US medical association.

The implications of the ruling can not be understated. Twenty-five states, all led by Republicans, have enacted laws banning trans youth from receiving gender-affirming medical care. 

Many states have since enacted laws becoming safe havens for families who need to escape these unjust laws. This has been brought to a head after conflicting decisions by District Courts some ruling in favor of trans youth care while some left the bans in place as they were litigated.

The fact that the justices decided to take up this question at all is significant, reports the 19th. The Supreme Court has declined to intervene on many issues related to transgender rights, including cases on bathroom access, school sports, whether trans people are protected under disability law, and whether trans students should receive confidential support in school. This inaction has repeatedly granted wins to LGBTQ+ advocates. Even when the Supreme Court allowed Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth in April, it did not address the constitutionality of such bans or debate political interventions in medical care. Now, for the first time, the high court will take up the issue, which is what LGBTQ+ rights attorneys were hoping for.

The petition asks the Supreme Court to decide the bans' constitutionality which to most would be a no brainer. However, the impartiality of the conservative judges has been recently shown to be compromised leaving many in the transgender community with a feeling of dread and distrust.

Research has found that hormone therapy can improve the mental health of transgender adolescents and teenagers, according to the largest study to date published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Major national medical associations -- including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and more than 20 others -- agree that gender-affirming care is safe, effective, beneficial, and medically necessary, ABC reports.

As part of its mission, the AAP will continue to “ensure young people get the reproductive and gender-affirming care they need and are seen, heard and valued as they are,” AAP CEO/Executive Vice President Mark Del Monte, J.D., said in a statement.

LGBTQ advocates on Monday called on the Supreme Court to restore access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth across the country.