SCOTUS Hears Arguments Against Tennessee Law Banning Sex-Change Treatments for Minors

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday (December 4) heard oral arguments in a landmark case to determine whether Tennessee can ban puberty blockers, hormonal treatments, and sex-change surgeries for minors who identify as transgender.

Filed as United States v. Skrmetti, the case was brought by the Biden administration, which argues Tennessee’s ban on sex change treatments for minors discriminates against young transgender people “on the basis of sex.”

Notably, while arguing that Tennessee’s law is discriminatory, US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said that there may be instances where state restrictions on sex-change treatments for adolescents may indeed be warranted, CP reports. Referencing a West Virginia ban on such treatments for teenagers at risk of suicide, Prelogar said: “The West Virginia Legislature changed course and imposed a set of guardrails that are far more precisely tailored to concerns surrounding the delivery of this care.”

“I think a law like that is going to fare much better under heightened scrutiny precisely because it would be tailored to the precise interests and not serve a more sweeping interest like the one asserted here in having minors appreciate their sex,” Prelogar said.

Arguing in defense of the Tennessee ban, state Solicitor General J. Matthew Rice told the court the law is not discriminatory because it is based on “medical purpose,” not on sex identification, CP reports. “Just as using morphine to manage pain differs from using it to assist suicide, using hormones and puberty blockers to address a physical condition is far different from using it to address psychological distress associated with one’s body,” Rice said.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the matter in the summer of 2025.

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