In a case that puts the justices in the heart of a national debate about gender identity in advance of the elections in November, the Supreme Court has decided to determine whether or not states have the authority to ban medical treatments for transgender minor's.
On Monday, the court issued a short ruling stating that it will consider the lawsuit that the Biden administration has filed against a Tennessee statute that prohibits gender-transition therapy. This includes drugs that might delay the start of puberty and hormones that can induce bodily changes such as the growth of facial hair or breasts.
At the same time as the legislation prohibits the use of medical therapies for the treatment of gender dysphoria, it allows for the use of these treatments for other disorders, such as premature puberty. The Justice Department contends that this policy violates the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.
A federal appeals court in Cincinnati did not agree with that line of reasoning. According to a piece that Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton authored for the Sixth United States Circuit Court of Appeals, "the unsettled, developing, and in truth still experimental nature of treatments in this area surely permits more than one policy approach, and the Constitution does not favor one over the other."
Approximately twenty-dozen states have prohibited or limited the use of such therapies at this point.
During the next term of the court, which will begin in October, the hearing for the case will take place. During the time that the case is taking place, transgender issues have emerged as a primary topic in statehouses all around the country. In addition to banning medical treatments, legislatures controlled by Republicans have also restricted talks of gender identity in public schools, mandated that individuals play on sports teams that correspond to their sex at birth, and approved rules that opponents believe will restrict drag performances.
