Supreme Court will hear arguments on gender-affirming care for minors

The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments on the issue of gender-affirming care for transgender minors on Wednesday (December 4).

Following the election of Donald Trump, who promised to roll back protections for transgender people and limit gender-affirming care, the families of several trans children will appeal to the Court to strike down a ban on gender-affirming care in Tennessee.

As part of his campaign, President-elect Trump backed a national ban on gender-affirming care.

The argument for striking down the ban centres on it being unlawful sex discrimination and that the ban violates the constitutional rights of vulnerable Americans.

Chase Stangio, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who represents those families, said: “The stakes are high, of course, for transgender adolescents, but also for the parents who are watching their children suffer, who are just trying to do right by their kids.”

Strangio is trans himself, and will make history as the first openly transgender person to argue before the Supreme Court.

In contrast, the lawyer arguing on behalf of Tennessee said that the “life-altering gender-transition procedures” are risky and unproven, and that it is the state’s job to protect children from such policies.

This is despite the fact studies show gender-affirming care improves the mental health of trans teens.

While arguments will begin this week, the Supreme Court is not expected to reach a decision until the spring.

Tennessee is not the only state to ban gender-affirming care for minors, with 25 other Republican-led states adopting a ban that are mostly in effect.

The Tennessee case is the first time the Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of the bans.

According to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, there are about 300,000 people between age 13 and 17 who identify as transgender in the United States so these bans will affect a huge swathe of people.

The fight over whether gender-affirming care can access puberty blockers and hormonal treatments is considered to be part of a broader effort, led by Republicans, to remove protections for transgender people, and includes whether they can play sports as part of teams aligned with their gender identity and which bathrooms they can use.