Families of transgender teens in Tennessee are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block a state law that bans gender-affirming care for minors.
A federal court of appeals ruled earlier this fall that Tennessee and Kentucky could ban gender-affirming care while legal challenges in both states make their way through the courts.
That means transgender youth will have to go years without access to care like hormone therapy and puberty blockers — if the court doesn’t intervene. 15-year-old plaintiff L.W. could lose a crucial window for her treatment during that time.
“I want the justices to know transgender people are not going away and that we deserve the same rights as everyone else,” she says.
Having to look out of state for care creates a financial burden, says her father, Brian Williams.
“This is not just some faceless thing that’s happening to somebody somewhere else. It’s happened to our family, and it’s happened to other families who don’t have the resources that we do. And, you know, it’s just frustrating,” he tells WPLN News. “People not only don’t understand trans folks, but they want to get rid of trans folks. And, you know, it pains me.”
The ACLU and Lambda Legal filed the petition Wednesday, asking for SCOTUS to review the lower court’s ruling quickly.
“Any delay in this Court’s review only risks subjecting transgender adolescents, their parents and their doctors to a patchwork of inconsistent laws and legal standards that obstruct their medical care,” the petition reads.
In its ruling, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals cited Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended the federal right to abortion, arguing that the law does not discriminate on the basis of sex. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti applauded the ruling, calling it a “win for democracy.”
A similar ban was permanently struck down in Arkansas. Other states are fielding similar legal challenges in federal courts.
Correction: Gender-affirming care bans in Alabama, Florida and Georgia took effect in September after an 11th Circuit Court ruling.
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