The U.S. Supreme Court, voting 6–3, upheld Tennessee’s prohibition on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for people under 18, ruling in United States v. Skrmetti that the measure does not violate the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the conservative majority, said the Court would not settle ongoing scientific and policy disputes over gender-affirming care. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in dissent, argued that the majority’s reasoning “abandons transgender children and their families to political whims.”
The decision immediately fortifies similar laws in at least 24 other states and, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, leaves more than 100,000 transgender minors without access to care recommended by major medical associations. ACLU attorney Chase Strangio called the ruling “harmful and devastating,” while conservative activists who championed the Tennessee statute celebrated what they described as a landmark victory.
Parents of transgender children interviewed after the ruling said they are weighing whether to move to states that still allow treatment, and advocates warned that new restrictions were already advancing in places such as New Hampshire. Medical providers said the judgment could disrupt ongoing treatment for adolescents who began therapy before the bans took effect.
In a related order, the justices remanded Folwell v. Kadel—litigation over North Carolina’s State Health Plan coverage of transition-related care—to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for further consideration in light of the Tennessee ruling, signaling more legal battles ahead over how far states may go in limiting gender-affirming medical services.
The US Supreme Court declined to review an Oklahoma law restricting the business of pharmacy benefit managers, ending the state’s attempt to reverse a lower court’s decision that largely invalidated the statute.
The US Supreme Court won’t weigh in on where a Kentucky Good Neighbor emissions lawsuit should be heard after ruling in favor of the EPA in a similar case this month.
The US Supreme Court announced that it won’t review whether a privately owned power plant on tribal land is exempt from more than $20 million in state and local taxes.
