Supreme Court Case
23-477 UNITED STATES V. SKRMETTI
DECISION BELOW: 83 F.4th 460
LOWER COURT CASE NUMBER: 23-5600
Location: Tennessee
QUESTION PRESENTED:
Whether Tennessee Senate Bill 1 (SBl), which prohibits all medical treatments intended to allow "a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex" or to treat "purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's sex and asserted identity," Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-33-103(a)(1), violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
What's at stake?
The Supreme Court of the United States will consider whether Tennessee's state restrictions on pediatric gender medicine is a form of sex discrimination or anti-transgender discrimination this Fall. The decision will likely apply to all state restrictions of these practices nationwide. What is at stake is the ability of states to enact regulations that protect children and adolescents from harmful medical interventions. Interventions that are primarily affecting gender non conforming young people and young gay and lesbians.
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"Present law generally prohibits healthcare prescribers from prescribing a course of treatment that involves hormone treatment for gender dysphoric or gender incongruent prepubertal minors. This bill replaces present law and instead establishes prohibitions related to the performance on minors of certain medical procedures related to gender identity, creates private causes of action for violations, and establishes additional penalties for violations." - Bill SB0001, Tennessee
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Read the full SB0001 summary here
Summary
Tennessee Law Restricting Gender Transitions Heads to Supreme Court
The state of Tennessee enacted Senate Bill 1 (SB1), a law that restricts minors from accessing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgery for reasons attributed to gender. This law went into effect on July 10, 2023, following a 2-1 decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of Tennessee.
This was the first time a federal court allowed a law restricting gender transitions to go into effect. The decision was written by Judge Jeffrey Sutton. Tennessee is currently one of twenty five states that regulates minors' access to pediatric gender transitions.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal subsequently challenged the 6th Circuit's ruling and have requested the Supreme Court to review the case. The court has agreed to hear the case, United States v. Skrmetti, in the fall of 2024, with a decision expected in June or July of 2025.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti expressed his support for the law, stating, "We fought hard to defend Tennessee's law protecting kids from irreversible gender treatments and secured a thoughtful and well-reasoned opinion from the Sixth Circuit. I look forward to finishing the fight in the United States Supreme Court. This case will bring much-needed clarity to whether the Constitution contains special protections for gender identity."