On Monday (June 24), the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Biden Administration’s challenge to Tennessee’s controversial ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The justices, expected to hear arguments close to the November presidential election, will deliberate on the constitutionality of these bans, with the potential to impact similar laws nationwide. This case will be the first time the Supreme Court substantively addresses the issue of gender-affirming care for minors.

The Tennessee law passed last year prohibits hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgeries intended for minors to transition to a gender different from their sex assigned at birth. Doctors who choose to administer such care are subjected to civil penalties. According to the Human Rights Campaign, this legislation is part of a broader trend, with almost half of the U.S. already implementing similar bans or restrictions on transgender care for minors.

Advocates, including the Biden administration and families of transgender minors, have challenged Tennessee's law, stating that the ban infringes upon the 14th Amendment by discriminating on the basis of sex. They contend that the law denies necessary medical treatment determined appropriate by families and doctors to address serious medical conditions such as gender dysphoria. They assert that such restrictions violate the rights guaranteed by the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the 14th Amendment, which safeguard against arbitrary state action and ensure equality under the law for all individuals.

Republican lawmakers, including Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, argue that such decisions about gender-affirming care should be postponed until individuals reach adulthood. They maintain that the law protects minors from making irreversible decisions at a young age. Tennessee’s law specifically targets treatments that allow minors to identify with a gender different from their birth sex or to address discomfort from gender dysphoria.

Various advocacy groups and legal experts have weighed in on the significance of this case. Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, stressed that all individuals deserve access to necessary medical care, including transgender and non-binary youth. An attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU), Lucas Cameron-Vaughn, criticized the bans as political tools used to create division and emphasized the importance of medical decisions being made between families and doctors.

Conversely, former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, has expressed support for state efforts to ban gender-affirming care for minors. He has described such treatments as “child abuse” and has pledged to use federal power to block them if elected.