SCOTUS skeptical-Challenge to Tennessee trans treatment ban
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Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 67
Gender: Male
Posts: 36,697
Location: Long Island, New York
Quote:
The conservative-majority Supreme Court on Wednesday leaned toward upholding a Tennessee law that restricts gender transition treatments for minors in a significant case on transgender rights.
It did not appear based on a lengthy oral argument that conservative justices believed that the law constitutes a form of sex discrimination that would mean courts have to give it close scrutiny. The court’s three liberal justices all appeared to view the law as classifying people by sex.
The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, is considering a challenge brought by the Biden administration and transgender teens and their families against the recently enacted law.
The state measure enacted in 2023 bars gender transition surgery for minors as well as puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The surgery ban is not at issue in the Supreme Court case after a lower court judge said the plaintiffs did not have legal standing to challenge it.
No matter how the court rules, it will have a broad impact, as more than 20 other states have passed laws similar to Tennessee’s.
Conservative justices questioned whether the court should second-guess the state legislature on a medical issue over which there is considerable debate. The state argues that the law does not constitute sex discrimination, saying it is merely a form of medical regulation that applies equally to everyone.
Several justices raised questions about changing views and increasing uncertainty among health authorities in Europe about some aspects of gender-affirming treatments.
"It strikes me as a pretty heavy yellow light, if not red light, for this court to come in, the nine of us, and to constitutionalize the whole area, when the rest of the world, or at least the people who the countries that have been at the forefront of this, are pumping the brakes on this kind of treatment," said conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Chief Justice John Roberts expressed similar concerns, saying the justices are "not the best situated to address issues like that" where conflicting views on medical issues have to be weighed.
"Doesn't that make a stronger case for us to leave those determinations to the legislative bodies rather than trying to determine them for ourselves?" he added.
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito asked the toughest questions of the challengers, including Chase Strangio, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who became the first openly transgender person to argue at the court.
Alito questioned the medical evidence for the efficacy of puberty blockers and hormone treatments, which the Biden administration has asserted is overwhelming. He also asked Strangio if being transgender is an "immutable characteristic" in the same way as, for example, race.
Alito was among those who pointed to recent moves by governments in Europe, including the United Kingdom and Sweden, to tighten standards for providing gender transition care for minors.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, representing the Biden administration, acknowledged there is "a lot of debate" about the proper model of treatment and for whom and at what age it would help, but she argued there was a consensus that the care can be medically necessary for some adolescents.
She pointed out that the United Kingdom and Sweden have not outright banned such treatments.
"I think that's because of the recognition that this care can provide critical, sometimes life-saving benefits for individuals with severe gender dysphoria," she added, referring to the clinical term given to the distress people can experience when their gender identities are in conflict with the genders assigned to them at birth.
Among the liberal justices, Justice Sonia Sotomayor was most forceful in highlighting the impact of state bans on transgender youth.
"The evidence is very clear that there are some children who actually need this treatment," Sotomayor said. As such, courts have a duty to take a close look at the government's rationale for enacting laws "to ensure that those children who are going to suffer all of these consequences will be made to do so only when it's compelling," she added.
The oral argument Wednesday morning is the most significant so far of the court's latest term, which started in October and ends in June.
There was a boisterous scene with supporters on both sides outside the court ahead of arguments. "Every child deserves the chance to fly as their true self," one sign held by a pro-transgender rights attendee said. "Stop transing kids” said another held by a woman supporting the state's law.
It did not appear based on a lengthy oral argument that conservative justices believed that the law constitutes a form of sex discrimination that would mean courts have to give it close scrutiny. The court’s three liberal justices all appeared to view the law as classifying people by sex.
The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, is considering a challenge brought by the Biden administration and transgender teens and their families against the recently enacted law.
The state measure enacted in 2023 bars gender transition surgery for minors as well as puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The surgery ban is not at issue in the Supreme Court case after a lower court judge said the plaintiffs did not have legal standing to challenge it.
No matter how the court rules, it will have a broad impact, as more than 20 other states have passed laws similar to Tennessee’s.
Conservative justices questioned whether the court should second-guess the state legislature on a medical issue over which there is considerable debate. The state argues that the law does not constitute sex discrimination, saying it is merely a form of medical regulation that applies equally to everyone.
Several justices raised questions about changing views and increasing uncertainty among health authorities in Europe about some aspects of gender-affirming treatments.
"It strikes me as a pretty heavy yellow light, if not red light, for this court to come in, the nine of us, and to constitutionalize the whole area, when the rest of the world, or at least the people who the countries that have been at the forefront of this, are pumping the brakes on this kind of treatment," said conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Chief Justice John Roberts expressed similar concerns, saying the justices are "not the best situated to address issues like that" where conflicting views on medical issues have to be weighed.
"Doesn't that make a stronger case for us to leave those determinations to the legislative bodies rather than trying to determine them for ourselves?" he added.
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito asked the toughest questions of the challengers, including Chase Strangio, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who became the first openly transgender person to argue at the court.
Alito questioned the medical evidence for the efficacy of puberty blockers and hormone treatments, which the Biden administration has asserted is overwhelming. He also asked Strangio if being transgender is an "immutable characteristic" in the same way as, for example, race.
Alito was among those who pointed to recent moves by governments in Europe, including the United Kingdom and Sweden, to tighten standards for providing gender transition care for minors.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, representing the Biden administration, acknowledged there is "a lot of debate" about the proper model of treatment and for whom and at what age it would help, but she argued there was a consensus that the care can be medically necessary for some adolescents.
She pointed out that the United Kingdom and Sweden have not outright banned such treatments.
"I think that's because of the recognition that this care can provide critical, sometimes life-saving benefits for individuals with severe gender dysphoria," she added, referring to the clinical term given to the distress people can experience when their gender identities are in conflict with the genders assigned to them at birth.
Among the liberal justices, Justice Sonia Sotomayor was most forceful in highlighting the impact of state bans on transgender youth.
"The evidence is very clear that there are some children who actually need this treatment," Sotomayor said. As such, courts have a duty to take a close look at the government's rationale for enacting laws "to ensure that those children who are going to suffer all of these consequences will be made to do so only when it's compelling," she added.
The oral argument Wednesday morning is the most significant so far of the court's latest term, which started in October and ends in June.
There was a boisterous scene with supporters on both sides outside the court ahead of arguments. "Every child deserves the chance to fly as their true self," one sign held by a pro-transgender rights attendee said. "Stop transing kids” said another held by a woman supporting the state's law.
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