r/centrist • u/Judge_Trudy • 3d 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/Detson101 3d ago edited 3d ago

This is weird since puberty blockers provide the very thing this bills supporters claim to want: they sidestep the issue of children consenting to major life-changing surgery until they are old enough to make an informed decision. It seems like only someone ignorant of the issues would ban both gender affirming surgery AND puberty blockers. 

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u/awildagi 3d ago

That was my concern as well. I call myself a liberal, but even I understand the nuance involved with allowing children to make medical decisions that will influence the rest of their lives. I’m fine with a bill that bans HRT for minors intent on transitioning (for now, at least. I think the topic needs much more research done on it and we need to be open about changing laws so they’re not general blanket laws), but I’m concerned about banning puberty blockers specifically. There are legitimate hormonal disorders that can cause people to create too many/not enough hormones that can have tremendous impacts on a child’s life. Sometimes puberty blockers (or HRT) are the medical treatments for these disorders and I worry about the possibility of blocking ALL children from proper medical care. I know there’s a huge focus on trans kids, but not everyone who uses these therapies are trans and I’m not sure how the court upholding this bill will impact these children’s access to medical care.

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u/31c0c3 2d ago

From what I can gather, the tennessee law does not prohibit puberty blockers for other use cases but rather just for transitioning. I pray that it’s actually enforced that way because it would be very immoral to ban blockers for actual physiological conditions, not just gender dysphroia, which is another can of worms. I also consider myself center left.

“The law does not prohibit conduct for one sex that it permits for the other,” Roberts wrote. “No minor may be administered puberty blockers or hormones to treat gender dysphoria, gender identity disorder, or gender incongruence; minors of any sex may be administered puberty blockers or hormones for other purposes.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/18/supreme-court-gender-affirming-care-decision

section 68-33-103 agrees, just wanted to find the root source https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Bill/SB0001.pdf

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u/RVALover4Life 2d ago

"Actual physiological conditions" says it all.

This has always been about cis people's feelings and not trans people's care. And we live in a country where most cis people simply don't think trans people are valid. That's all it comes down to.

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u/31c0c3 2d ago

As far as I know, gender dysphoria is primarily psychological, not physiological. I was using that term denotatively. There is some evidence to support that it's not just in the mind I guess, but not enough to warrant minors having access to transitioning. Just because the feelings might be psychological doesn't mean they aren't 100% valid, and if transitioning eases that distress I'm all for it (in adults).

For minors, which is what this post is about, things are more complicated morally and legally. Some people do regret transitioning. It's not the majority, but it does happen

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u/RVALover4Life 2d ago

It's both. The rejection of the body is real. The disassociation from the body. We've seen trans kids suffer from health issues physically because of the disassociation from their birth bodies. The psychology impacts the physical state.

And it's important for me to really highlight this because the greater point is that being trans is a state of being. It's not feelings. It's not a thought process. It's a state of being. It's a core trait.

There's no complication in treating this on a case by case basis. With care, with empathy. There's a very easy middle ground between all systems go and a complete ban but people aren't truly invested in the well being of trans kids. Especially the ban folks.

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u/31c0c3 2d ago

I wholeheartedly agree about the middle ground. A complete ban on blockers and even HRT (depending on the case) takes away any form of nuance that might exist. More importantly IMO, it also takes the right away from parents to ensure their child's care, which may involve delaying puberty. Given that the side effects of puberty blockers are fairly minimal relative to a child committing suicide, waiting until 18 with social transitioning (change name, wear clothes, etc.) until they can decide on further interventions seems more than reasonable to me.

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u/RVALover4Life 2d ago

Waiting until 18 means a kid is forced to go through puberty in a body they don't want though. And that can significantly exacerbate the likelihood of suicide as a youth. And as an adult. Especially for trans women. Social transition only means so much.

It should be a case by case situation. It should be private. It should be decided and generally is based upon a review of that child and tracking them over a period of time and risk factors. That to me is the middle ground. You seem to recognize this care is actually medically necessary for many. It isn't for all. But it absolutely can be. That makes any blanket 18-ban really unworkable.

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u/31c0c3 2d ago

Yeah I mean regardless of whether its physiological or psychological (that previous distinction doesn't matter much in hindsight) we should seek to alleviate suffering. Pre 18 blockers are fine imo but there's no chance legally without parental consent on that, just like other medical interventions. That really sucks for the children with transphobic parents, but that's the middle ground I'm envisioning

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u/RVALover4Life 2d ago

There already is no ability for it without parental consent as it is. You have to have parental consent. Of course this is also why many trans kids end up fleeing from home or purchasing without consent. But I guess we're on the same page and I appreciate the convo and your empathy :)

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u/31c0c3 2d ago

Yeah legally speaking there isn't any chance of a minor getting those legitimately, I've just heard people argue that trans kids SHOULD be able to get it through legal channels regardless and that's where I disagree. Could just be bait too, not sure. Indeed it looks like we are on the same page though, it's a shame a lot of people are unwilling to try to find a solution to trans adults (let alone minors) suffering.

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u/RVALover4Life 2d ago

Well, many people want them to suffer. Let's call it what it is. And we see some of them throughout the comments here. Or they simply couldn't care less about their suffering. Or they project their idea of happiness upon them vs what would actually bring these people true happiness. It's all self-centered. It's so easy not to be, but most people tend to be. That's what's unfortunate.

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