The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, a landmark case whose outcome could have wide-reaching implications for the future of transgender health care in the U.S.
It marks the first time the justices will weigh in on the issue, which could impact laws passed by 24 Republican-led states since 2021 that ban medications like puberty blockers and hormones for transgender children and teens. Legal challenges mounted by transgender youths, their families and medical providers have been met with mixed results, and federal appeals courts have split over whether the bans are constitutional.
A district court judge initially blocked Tennessee officials from enforcing the law, Senate Bill 1, which Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed in 2023. A panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later overturned the lower court’s ruling, allowing the ban to take effect.
“Since Tennessee banned my minor patients from accessing these treatments, many have been forced........