TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee Law Banning Certain Gender Care for Minors

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jun 18, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Tennessee’s law restricting certain gender-transition treatments for minors, rejecting a legal challenge brought by three transgender adolescents, their families and a Memphis-based medical provider. In a 6-3 decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, the court sided with Tennessee and dismissed claims that the law — which bans puberty blockers and hormone therapies for individuals under 18 — violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause, National Public Radio reports. The case originated from a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal and the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP following passage of SB1/HB1. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said the court’s role is to determine whether the law complies with the Constitution, not to weigh its policy merits. The justices found that the law does not discriminate on the basis of sex or transgender status and thus does not require heightened judicial scrutiny. Justice Sonia Sotomayor authored a dissent saying the decison would cause "untold harm to transgender children and the parents and families who love them.” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti reacted to the ruling in a press release saying, “In [this] historic Supreme Court win, the common sense of Tennessee voters prevailed over judicial activism.” In contrast, Lucas Cameron-Vaughn, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Tennessee, said, “We will continue to stand with transgender people in Tennessee and are committed to realizing a world where all people belong, are valued, and can access the necessary healthcare they need.”

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