Supreme Court to weigh state restrictions on gender-affirming care for youths

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday waded into the culture-war debate over gender-affirming care for transgender minors by agreeing to resolve challenges to a law in Tennessee that seeks to restrict it.

The justices will hear a Biden administration appeal of a court ruling that upheld the measure. Oral arguments and a ruling are expected in the court’s next term, which starts in October and ends in June 2025.

The case marks the first time the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, will issue a ruling in the battle over transgender rights for teens, which has raged in both the health care and education contexts.

"The future of countless transgender youth in this and future generations rests on this Court adhering to the facts, the Constitution and its own modern precedent,” said Chase Strangio, a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union, which also challenged the law.

The state measure restricts puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery for minors. The surgery ban is not at issue in the Supreme Court case.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement that he had "fought hard" to defend the state's law.

"I look forward to finishing the fight at the United States Supreme Court," he added. "This case will bring much-needed clarity to whether the Constitution contains special protections for gender identity."

In a separate case, the court in April allowed Idaho to mostly enforce a similar law.

More than 20 states have enacted similar bans, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ rights think tank. Whatever the court rules will affect those states as well.

Major medical organizations say that gender-affirming treatments are an effective way of treating gender dysphoria,