Supreme Court hears arguments over Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth

Washington — The Supreme Court is set to weigh for the first time Wednesday whether states can restrict access to gender-affirming care for minors experiencing gender dysphoria, stepping into the politically charged debate over health care for transgender youth.

Roughly half of the states have enacted laws that prohibit puberty blockers or hormone therapy for those under the age of 18, and the dispute brought by the Biden administration, three families and a doctor tests whether states cross a constitutional line when regulating medical care that transgender adolescents argue is crucial to their well-being.

The case before the Supreme Court, U.S. v. Skrmetti, involves a Tennessee law known as SB1 that was adopted in March 2023. It bars health care providers from administering puberty blockers or hormone therapy if they're meant to enable "a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex." The state argued that it has a "compelling interest in encouraging minors to appreciate their sex, particularly as they undergo puberty," and in prohibiting treatments that "might encourage minors to become disdainful of their sex."