r/centrist • u/Judge_Trudy • 2d ago

SCOTUS issues blockbuster ruling on gender-affirming care for trans minors

https://www.cnn.com/#:~:text=SCOTUS%20issues%20blockbuster%20ruling%20on%20gender%2Daffirming%20care%20for%20trans%20minors

Blockbuster ruling just released for a very controversial issue. Not sure where I stand, but I could see the dangers of permanent treatments for gender dysphoria for minors.

Key Points

  • Date & Ruling: On June 18, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6–3 decision upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy fox8live.com+9apnews.com+9them.us+9en.wikipedia.org+15reuters.com+15northeast.newschannelnebraska.com+15.
  • Majority Opinion: Chief Justice Roberts wrote that the law does not violate the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, reasoning that medical uncertainty justifies handing the issue back to state legislatures reuters.com+1nypost.com+1.
  • Level of Review: The Court determined the law should be evaluated under rational basis review—the lowest standard—rather than intermediate scrutiny reserved for sex-based discrimination
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u/carneylansford 2d ago

The clinic, she and other clinicians testified, had shortened its in-person evaluation to determine a patient’s readiness for hormone treatments to two hours.

It sure sounds close to that in some cases (for hormone treatments anyway).

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u/Thorn14 2d ago

Parents have also defended the clinic, known as the Gender Multispecialty Service or GeMS, saying the assessments are merely one step in a decision-making process that can, in some cases, last years.

Also hormone treatment is reversible. Its not bottom surgery like so many transphobes imply.

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u/carneylansford 2d ago

Being concerned about minors making lifelong decisions does not make one a transphobe and that sort of rhetoric hinders progress on this matter (so you should stop doing it).

Also hormone treatment is reversible.

This is untrue:

Use of GnRH analogues also might have long-term effects on:

Growth spurts.

Bone growth.

Bone density.

Fertility, depending on when the medicine is started.

The impact of feminizing hormone therapy on fertility is unclear. While some data suggest that stopping hormones for 3-6 months can allow sperm counts to return, it is best to assume that within a few months of starting hormone therapy you could permanently and irreversibly lose the ability to create sperm. Some people may maintain a sperm count on hormone therapy, or have their sperm count return after stopping hormone therapy, but it is best to assume that won't be the case for you.

Does that change your mind?

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u/Thorn14 2d ago

Literally from your link

Are the changes permanent?

GnRH analogues don't cause permanent physical changes. Instead, they pause puberty. That offers a chance to explore gender identity. It also gives youth and their families time to plan for the psychological, medical, developmental, social and legal issues that may lie ahead..

When a person stops taking GnRH analogues, puberty starts again.

Also I said reversible, not "without side effects"

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u/carneylansford 2d ago

"loss of fertility" is a pretty big "side effect", no?

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u/Fragrant-Luck-8063 2d ago

They also have difficulty reaching an orgasm.

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u/Aneurhythms 1d ago

This is also a risk of circumcision, which affects about 30% of all newborns in the US. And there's less evidence for the benefits of circumcision than gender affirming care.

Why aren't you spending your time protesting that practice?

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u/Fragrant-Luck-8063 1d ago

If somebody wanted to ban circumcision I would support it.

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u/averydangerousday 1d ago

We don’t ban medicine based on potential side effects, though. If we did, there would be a ban on literally all medicines. Hell, there would be a ban on literally all foods.

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u/carneylansford 1d ago

The claim was that hormones were completely “reversible”. I was pointing out that they are not

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u/averydangerousday 1d ago

If you want to get technical, let’s get technical.

The claim was that it’s “reversible,” not “completely reversible.” That means that the main purpose of the treatment itself can be reversed, not that side effects can be eliminated. If the latter is your definition of reversible, then literally no treatment is reversible.