On June 18, the Supreme Court issued its decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, allowing states to ban gender-affirming care for minors. The case was brought by three transgender youth, their families, and a medical provider to challenge the constitutionality of a Tennessee law called SB1, which banned medically necessary gender-affirming care for transgender youth. (A detailed history of the Skrmetti case can be found in a previous edition of Health Care in Motion.)
This decision will have devastating consequences for the health, safety, and well-being of transgender and gender-diverse youth because they will no longer be able to access the widely accepted, evidence-based standard of care for gender dysphoria advanced by leading professional organizations. As a result, it denies access to necessary, often life-saving medical care, particularly for individuals and families unable to travel out of state for treatment. Justice Sotomayor observed in her dissent, the law “authorizes, without second thought, untold harm to transgender children and the parents and families who love them.”
Read this edition of Health Care in Motion for a summary of the Skrmetti majority opinion, a discussion of the legal implications, and a brief forecast on future legal challenges.
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