The ruling came down in a 6–3 vote, divided along party lines. The conservative majority found the law constitutional, asserting that under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, these issues should be settled through legislation, not judicial activism.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a strong dissent, stated that this law is a clear form of sex-based discrimination and that the Court should have intervened.
“The Court has abandoned transgender children and their families to the whims of political winds,” she wrote.
The Tennessee law, enacted in 2023, prohibits any medical interventions aimed at allowing minors to live in a gender identity that differs from their assigned biological sex at birth.
These include:
Puberty blockers
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
Gender-affirming surgeries (which are already rare for minors)
The Supreme Court did not find such bans unconstitutional
State governments now have the authority to regulate or prohibit gender transition treatments for minors
This decision may pave the way for similar laws in other states to be upheld or enacted
The next related case the Court may hear concerns the ban on “conversion therapy” in Colorado
This ruling marks a significant shift in the legal landscape for transgender rights in the United States, particularly for transgender youth.
For individuals involved in immigration or asylum proceedings, this kind of legislation could become a critical element in proving persecution or discrimination based on gender identity, especially for those fleeing countries (or now, even certain U.S. states) with restrictive or punitive policies toward transgender individuals.
