Supreme Court hears arguments in major transgender rights case: Here's what to know
WASHINGTON - In the first major transgender rights case to hit the Supreme Court, the justices are considering a challenge to a Tennessee law that prohibits gender-affirming care for minors.
The key issue is that Tennessee bans hormone therapy and puberty blockers for transgender minors but it's not "across the board," and allows other minors to receive the same treatment. For example, a boy experiencing puberty too early can receive puberty blockers but a boy wishing to take puberty blockers to transition or feminize his appearance cannot.
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According to the AP, the plaintiffs allege that this violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same.
But Tennessee says they are protecting minors and their position is backed by science.
"We’re going to focus on the counseling and psychotherapy that can be so beneficial in helping kids deal with gender dysphoria. So that's all Tennessee and these other states are doing is making sure," said Matt Sharp with the Alliance Defending Freedom. "That kids can get good help —the counseling, the psychotherapy, the mental health services that can help them navigate this while protecting them from the drugs and surgeries until they can reach adulthood and make those decisions."
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The lead lawyer for the challengers, backed by the Biden administration, is Chase Strangio of the American Civil Liberties Union. Strangio is the first openly transgender person to argue in front of the justices.
Strangio argued that the law bans medical care based on the minor's sex and therefore discriminates on the basis of sex so it should be met with greater scrutiny by the justices.
Tennessee concedes that the same treatments that are banned for transgender minors can be prescribed for other reasons but it refutes the claim that it is discriminating based on sex. Instead, it says legislators acted to protect minors from the dangers of "life-altering gender-transition procedures."
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti wrote in the state's Supreme Court brief that the state’s law "draws a line between minors seeking drugs for gender transition and minors seeking drugs for other medical purposes. And boys and girls fall on both sides of that line," the AP noted.
A decision by the justices is not expected for several months, but the Associated Press reported that this could impact similar laws passed by another 25 states and other efforts to control the lives of transgender individuals, including which sports they can compete in and which bathrooms they have access to.
"More states being emboldened to pass these kinds of bans…and I also think we've seen it in some states already – the introduction of bills that would impact adults as well. Some that could impact people up to 21 have been passed at this point but I think transgender adults are going to have risks to their healthcare access as well," Ethan Rice, senior attorney with Lambda Legal told FOX 5.