A Dark Day for Trans Youth: Supreme Court Fails Tennessee’s Transgender Children
On June 18, 2025, the United States Supreme Court delivered a devastating blow to transgender rights when it upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors in United States v. Skrmetti. In a 6–3 decision, the Court ruled that denying puberty blockers and hormone therapy to trans minors does not violate the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause—a ruling that should send chills down the spine of anyone who believes in justice and human dignity.
A Moral Failure of Epic Proportions
Chief Justice Roberts frankly admitted the medical debate
surrounding these treatments, but declared that democracy—not fundamental
rights—should decide whether trans kids receive life-saving care . Yet the core
question was never about policy—it was about human lives. Trans youth
are already facing alarming rates of depression and suicidal ideation; denying
access to well-established, medically necessary care is a moral obscenity
.
Reinforcing Structural Discrimination
By allowing states to ban trans healthcare under the pretense of “neutral medical regulation,” the Court is sweeping sex and gender identity discrimination under the rug. Justice Sotomayor’s dissent was scathing—and entirely correct—when she said the Court has “abandoned transgender children … to political whims”.
A Slippery Slope for LGBTQ+ Rights
This ruling doesn’t just hurt trans kids; it sends a message that the rights of LGBTQ+ communities are negotiable, expendable even. If constitutional protections can be so easily dismissed, all of us—gay, lesbian, bisexual, nonbinary—are vulnerable. This ruling empowers anti-LGBTQ+ forces and emboldens lawmakers poised to strip away civil rights. It gives a legal green light to hateful rhetoric and bigotry, plain and simple.
Enough Is Enough: Stop Gay Hate
We must confront the underlying forces driving this regressive, dangerous wave: intolerance, fear, and outright gay hate. It is not hyperbolic to say that removing basic health care for a group of vulnerable young people is hate in policy form. It’s time to stop gay hate—with every voice, every action, every vote.
What Must Happen Next
- Organize: Support state and community efforts to safeguard gender-affirming care. Fight the spread of copycat bills.
- Educate: Medical associations—and all of us—must continue presenting the evidence: access saves lives.
- Vote: Elect leaders who uphold the constitutional dignity of all people, not those who violate the rights of the few because they’re unpopular with a hateful majority.
Final Word
This decision is not merely disappointing—it’s an assault on justice. It strips transgender youth of essential medical care, reinforces societal bigotry, and chips away at constitutional safeguards protecting LGBTQ+ Americans. We must respond with urgency, bravery, and unwavering commitment to equality. We will fight back—and we will prevail.
