The Supreme Court appeared split Wednesday on the constitutionality of a state law banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, a politically charged issue dealing with transgender rights. The justices heard tense oral arguments lasting about two and a half hours over a challenge to Tennessee's law.
At issue is the Equal Protection Clause, which requires governments to treat similarly situated people the same, to force health care providers to use puberty-blocking measures to facilitate the transition of minors to another gender. The question is whether states are prohibited from allowing the administration of drugs or hormones.
Three judges appointed by former President Trump could be the key to resolving a divisive issue in society. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett asked tough questions of both sides, but Justice Neil Gorsuch did not speak during the marathon hearing.
Justice Samuel Alito cited “overwhelming evidence” from several medical studies that cited adverse effects by teens who received gender-affirming care. But Justice Sonia Sotomayor countered with evidence from minors who were denied treatment to address gender dysphoria.
Supreme Court weighs treatment of transgender youth in landmark case
The U.S. Supreme Court seen at dusk. The court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a high-profile case centered on the right of transgender youth to receive gender-affirming care. (Aaron Schwartz/SIPA USA)
Chief Justice John Roberts was the majority vote in a 2020 lawsuit supporting transgender employees alleging workplace discrimination. The opinion was authored by Gorsuch. But in arguments Wednesday, Roberts suggested that state legislatures are better positioned than courts to decide such questions about regulating medical practices.
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Scumetti has been named as a defendant in the court challenge. (AG Jonathan Skrmetti/Fox News Digital)
Roberts told ACLU attorney Chase Strangio, who represented transgender minors, their parents and doctors, that “the Constitution leaves that issue in the hands of the people's representatives, not nine people. , there are no doctors among them.” Strangio is the first openly transgender lawyer to argue a case before the Supreme Court.
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Members of the U.S. Supreme Court, front from left: Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan, back from left: Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch. The justices, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, pose. Their official portrait taken in Washington DC on October 7, 2022 (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
He appeared alongside the U.S. attorney general on behalf of the Biden administration in opposing Tennessee's law, which is one of about 20 similar bans in place. Trump, who will be re-elected as president next month, had promised during his re-election campaign to implement certain policy changes that would have an impact. transgender person across a variety of fields.
A verdict is expected to be rendered by late June 2025.
The case is United States v. Scumetti (23-477).
