The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Tennessee law prohibiting transgender drugs and surgeries for children, a major win for conservative activists and parent groups.
The court ruled 6-3 in United States v. Skrmetti that Tennessee&#8217;s law does not violate the 14th Amendment&#8217;s Equal Protection Clause. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti defended the law before the High Court in December, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-ag-explains-trans-procedure-harms-after-defending-ban-to-scotus">saying</a> it was a matter of &#8220;protecting kids from the consequences of decisions that they cannot fully understand.&#8221;
Chief Justice John Roberts penned the court&#8217;s <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-477_2cp3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opinion</a> and said the plaintiffs &#8220;contort the meaning of the term &#8216;medical treatment.'&#8221;
&#8220;Notably absent from their framing is a key aspect of any medical treatment: the underlying medical concern the treatment is intended to address,&#8221; Roberts wrote.
Roberts rejected the plaintiffs&#8217; argument that Tennessee&#8217;s law discriminates on the basis of sex.
&#8220;The law does not prohibit conduct for one sex that it permits for the other,&#8221; Roberts wrote. &#8220;Under SB1, no minor may be administered puberty blockers or hormones to treat gender dysphoria, gender identity disorder, or gender incongruence; minors of any sex may be administered puberty blockers or hormones for other purposes.&#8221;
Roberts also noted that the number of minors requesting &#8220;sex transition treatments&#8221; has increased in recent years, while there have been &#8220;rising debates regarding the relative risks and benefits of such treatments&#8221; including European countries cracking down on these procedures and drugs.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion in which he said, &#8220;there is no medical consensus on how best to treat gender dysphoria in children,&#8221; and &#8220;recent revelations suggest that leading voices in this area have relied on questionable evidence, and have allowed ideology to influence their medical guidance.&#8221;
Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Samuel Alito also wrote concurring opinions, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissent that was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Sotomayor claimed that &#8220;transgender adolescents’ access to hormones and puberty blockers (known as gender-affirming care) is not a matter of mere cosmetic preference. To the contrary, access to care can be a question of life or death.&#8221; Advocates have <a href="https://www.heritage.org/gender/report/puberty-blockers-cross-sex-hormones-and-youth-suicide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed</a> a similar line to parents of trans-identifying children for years.
Tennessee lawmakers were inspired to introduce and pass the law following Daily Wire host Matt Walsh&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-could-be-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-gender-ideology">explosive investigation</a> into Vanderbilt University&#8217;s gender clinic.
Tennessee&#8217;s law blocks all transgender medical treatments on children, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries. Doctors who offer these treatments risk losing their medical licenses and paying a $25,000 fine. The law also gives children and their families the right to sue if they were harmed by these treatments.
The plaintiffs in the Tennessee case, which include trans-identifying teens and their families, claimed the state’s ban violates the 14th Amendment, which requires that everyone is treated equally under the law, by preventing them from accessing medical treatments that are available to others. They also claimed the ban violates parental rights to make health care decisions for their children.
The law was immediately challenged when it took effect in July, 2023. A Nashville federal district judge blocked the law that same month, but a week later, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals combined the Tennessee case with a similar case out of Kentucky and ruled in favor of both bans.
The Biden administration joined the lawsuit against Tennessee and urged the Supreme Court to take up the case, saying the court’s opinion was “urgently needed” since the confusion among federal courts had resulted in “profound uncertainty.”
Federal appeals courts have been divided in recent years on whether state bans on these transgender medical interventions for children are unconstitutional.
This is only the second time the Supreme Court has weighed in on this white-hot culture war issue, having previously avoided many opportunities to get involved.
In April of last year, the court <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-allows-enforcement-idaho-ban-gender-affirming-care-trans-rcna141209" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowed</a> Idaho to enforce its ban on transgender medical interventions for minors except for the two teenagers who sued over the law.
Thursday&#8217;s ruling is expected to have broad implications for the other state bans on the same transgender medical interventions for minors. More than 20 states with Republican-led legislatures have similar bans.
Both puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones come with serious health risks. Puberty blockers can <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gender-dysphoria/in-depth/pubertal-blockers/art-20459075" target="_blank" rel="noopener">affect</a> bone growth and density and cause sexual dysfunction, voice damage, and infertility, among other issues. Cross-sex hormones can <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-young-people-in-u-s-have-nearly-doubled-recently-report-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cause</a> infertility, deadly blood clots, heart attacks, increased risk of both breast and ovarian cancers, liver dysfunction, worsening psychological illness, and other serious conditions.
Gender surgeries like phalloplasty, vaginoplasty, and double mastectomy are irreversible and often come with <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/transgender/phalloplasty#risks-and-complications" target="_blank" rel="noopener">serious</a> complications.
This is a developing story. Please refresh this page for updates.

<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><div data-widget-host="revcontent" data-pub-id="165152" data-widget-id="290588"></div><script src="https://delivery.revcontent.com/165152/290588/widget.js"></script>

Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee’s Ban On Transgender Drugs For Children

CONTINUE READING

Your Child’s School Might Still Be Pushing Transgender Ideology Despite Trump’s Orders

Trump Says MSNBC Changed Name Because It’s ‘Ashamed’

Plant-Based Beyond Meat Denies It’s Filing For Bankruptcy Amid Falling Sales

Democrats Love Citing This One Climate Change Study. Turns Out It’s All Bogus.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams Proposes Law To Involuntarily Commit Drug Addicts

The Feds Took Over The DC Police In The 90s, Too. Here’s How That Went.

News

Gender

gender ideology

LGBT

LGBTQ

SCOTUS

Supreme Court

Transgender

A video goes viral showing a baby being refused his mother by two gay "dads". This is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will have an important discussion today about surrogacy. 

Hour 1

The Matt Walsh Show

Ep. 1765 - This Video Is One Of The Worst Things I've Seen In A Long Time 

The Strait of Hormuz officially opens for business (kind of), the Pope makes “shocking” comments on immigration, and President Trump promises UFO disclosure at TPUSA. 


The Michael Knowles Show

Ep. 1956 -  Pope Leo's "SHOCKING" Immigration Comments EXPLAINED

A false miscreed has corrupted our leadership class.


The Andrew Klavan Show

Ep. 1275 - Dumb, Dumber and Progressive

President Trump announces a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, a murder-suicide involving former Democratic Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shakes Virginia, and France and Britain hold a conference to secure the Strait of Hormuz – after the Iranian conflict ends. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.

- - -

Ep. 2738

- - -

Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3

- - -

Today's Sponsors:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text 'WIRE' to 83848 to learn more.

Pocket Hose - Text MORNING to 64000 to get a FREE pocket pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of ANY size Copper Head hose. Message and data rates may apply.

Morning Wire

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26 [Member Exclusive]

A ceasefire goes into effect between Israel and Lebanon, a tragic murder-suicide rocks Virginia, and Dairy Queen deploys AI in the drive-thru. Get the facts first with Evening Wire.
- - -
Ep. 2737
- - -
Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3 
- - -
Today’s Sponsor:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text “WIRE” to 83848 to learn more.


Evening Wire: Lebanon Ceasefire Begins & Murder-Suicide Rocks VA | 4.16.26

The Pendragon Cycle

Menu

— News —

Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee’s Ban On Transgender Drugs For Children