‘Sounds to me like ‘we want boys to be boys”: Kagan chides Tennessee for dodging true purpose of transgender medical ban during SCOTUS arguments

Background: UNITED STATES - DECEMBER 4: Activists for and against trans rights protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court before the start of the United States v. Skrmetti case on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images). Inset: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan speaks during an event at the Library of Congress for the 2024 Supreme Court Fellows Program hosted by the Law Library of Congress, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Washington (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel).

Background: UNITED STATES – DECEMBER 4: Activists for and against trans rights protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court before the start of the United States v. Skrmetti case on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images). Inset: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan speaks during an event at the Library of Congress for the 2024 Supreme Court Fellows Program hosted by the Law Library of Congress, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Washington (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel).

The U.S. Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case with the potential to create groundbreaking legal precedent about the rights of transgender individuals to receive gender-affirming medical care.

The case centers around a Tennessee law enacted in 2023. The statute, SB1, bans both surgery intended to cure gender dysphoria as well as the prescription of hormone blockers for minors who are experiencing gender dysphoria. The law’s self-described purpose is to “protect the health and welfare of minors.”

But SB1 does not prohibit puberty-delaying medication or hormone therapy for all patients — only for those who would use the treatment to depart from a minor’s sex assigned at birth. Young people who use treatments to treat early or delayed puberty are still permitted to use the medications under the law.

The Tennessee legislature noted in the legislation’s text that the state “has a legitimate, substantial, and compelling interest in encouraging minors to appreciate their sex, particularly as they undergo puberty.”

Twenty-six states currently have similar laws banning gender-affirming care. Opponents of these restrictions argue that they are particularly harmful to transgender children, as research has shown that the restrictions have a severely negative impact on their mental health.

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