The Supreme Court heard arguments from the Biden administration on Monday, June 24, to overturn state bans on gender-affirming medical treatment.
The top court’s decision to consider the plea coincides with several limits placed on transgender people’s ability to obtain healthcare, participate in school athletics, use restrooms, and perform drag. These prohibitions are the result of Republican-led states.
The court’s upcoming term, which runs from October to June 2025, is probably going to have oral arguments and a verdict.
This is the first time the 6-3 majority conservative-majority court will rule on a case pertaining to adolescent transgender rights, a divisive topic in the school and healthcare industries.
Among the numerous protections for transgender people that the administration and Democratic-led states have increased are new federal laws targeted at protecting transgender kids.
The case before the court concerns a Tennessee legislation that restricts the use of hormone treatment and puberty blockers for transgender children. The federal appeals court in Cincinnati ultimately allowed laws in Tennessee and Kentucky to take effect, after they had been halted by lower courts.
“Without this Court’s prompt intervention, transgender youth and their families will remain in limbo, uncertain of whether and where they can access needed medical care,” the Tennessee transgender teens’ attorney told the court.
Starring in movies including “Juno,” “Inception,” and “The Umbrella Academy,” actor Elliot Page, who is nominated for an Oscar, is one of the 57 transgender people who have signed a legal document supporting a Supreme Court review.
The state of South Carolina became the 25th state this month to enact laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical therapy for younger transgender patients, despite the fact that these therapies have been available in the US for more than a decade and are endorsed by major medical groups.
Previously, the justices had allowed Idaho to adopt such restrictions widely after lower courts had barred state restrictions on such medicines.
Transgender women and girls are prohibited by law from participating in several sports intended exclusively for women and girls in at least 24 states. Transgender women and girls are not allowed to use the women’s or girls’ restrooms in public schools or some other types of government buildings, according to legislation passed by at least 11 states.
A lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union named Chase Strangio said that “the future of countless transgender youth in this and future generations rests on this court adhering to the facts, the Constitution and its modern precedent.”
