Supreme Court Ruling

By now, I’m sure most of you have heard the news. On June 18, The Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling in US v. Skrmetti, allowing Tennessee to ban gender-affirming care for minors. This decision disregards medical research and opens the door for other states to enact similar laws, placing transgender youth at increased risk of harm.The reasoning by the majority is that because they are banning treatment across the board, this issue does not fall under the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment, which prevents discrimination based on gender identity. Their narrow interpretation for what “gender based discrimination” disproportionately harms transgender youth and allows for other states to ban gender-affirming care.

While some policymakers chose to ignore scientifically supported evidence, we must continue to elevate the voices of experts, and the lived realities of trans and non-binary youth. We can still try to provide those around us with the truth of the matter, for the sake of kids who can’t fight for themselves and their own rights. It should be a blessing to realize who you are at a young age, so you don’t have to spend years struggling with trying to jam yourself into the wrong box. We don’t want to lose more teens to suicide because they feel trapped and have to watch their body change in irreversable ways, when it is completely preventable, even if just to give them time to think. “Protecting the Children” means adults supporting the lives of adolescents who are suffering because they are not receiving, for many cases, life-saving care. Teens (and even some pre-teens) denied access to care often experience severe side-effects: gender dysphoria, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. We want them to live and grow to become healthy, well-adjusted adults who can thrive as their true self. 

“Children are not just objects who belong to their parents and for whom decisions are made, or adults in training. Rather, they are human beings and individuals with their own rights.” [1]

Here are some facts and resources to help with conversations in the coming days:

• Study participants showed 60% lower odds of moderate to severe depression and 73% lower odds of suicidality after initiation of puberty blockers (PB) or gender-affirming hormones (GAH) over 12 months [2]

• Multiple studies of adolescents show consistent decreases in depression, anxiety, suicidality, along with improved body congruence and life satisfaction with gender affirming hormone treatments [3]

• Over 2 years, teens on hormone therapy significantly increased emotional well‑being, congruence between appearance and identity, and social functioning [4] 

[1] Convention on the Rights of the Child . UNICEF. (n.d.). https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention 

[2] Tordoff, D. M., Wanta, J. W., Collin, A., Stepney, C., Inwards-Breland, D. J., & Ahrens, K. (2022). Mental Health Outcomes in Transgender and Nonbinary Youths Receiving Gender-Affirming Care. JAMA network open, 5(2), e220978. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.0978 

[3] Maung H. H. (2024). Gender Affirming Hormone Treatment for Trans Adolescents: A Four Principles Analysis. Journal of bioethical inquiry, 21(2), 345–363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-023-10313-z 

[4] Santora, T. (2025, February 25). Transgender youth have better emotional health after taking hormones, new study finds. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/transgender-youth-have-better-emotional-health-after-taking-hormones-new/ 

-Lisa Fay