Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in United States v. Skrmetti to uphold Tennessee’s law protecting children from harmful puberty blockers, hormones, and irreversible mutilating surgeries.
Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority opinion stating that the ruling was “only to ensure that” the law “does not violate” the Equal Protection clause.
“Having concluded that it does not, we leave questions regarding its policy to the people, their elected representatives, and the democratic process,” wrote Chief Justice Roberts. During oral arguments in December 2024, many of the Justices questioned whether the Due Process Clause or the Equal Protection Clause prohibited a state from banning gender transition surgery on minors, especially due to the lack of international medical consensus on gender procedures.
The decision is likely to keep in effect the similar laws protecting children in 26 other states.
