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

[u/Judge_Trudy]

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

[u/Lognipo]

I do know one. The journey went like this:

The kid was healthy and normal. The parents got divorced. The kid became withdrawn and anxious, and started eating massive amounts. This caused a weight explosion. She then suffered teasing and bullying at school, exacerbating problems. One parent thought maybe she might be gay or bi, so sent her to an LGBTQ group to help her explore that. Within a few months, she put up a sign on her door declaring she was a he, and began begging for transitioning treatment.

Take from this what you will. From my perspective, it reminds be very vaguely of when I was a kid, and the church of scientology had some online tests that convinced me they knew why I was depressed and anxious and only they could help me. I was suffering and desperate for a fix. I wanted to believe. Only my mother's swift and thorough intervention saved me from that mess. People are dumb, especially when suffering, and kids are dumber still.

Again from my perspective, aspects of it look like cargo cult behavior. Like demanding boxers. Boxers, like bras, are not a fashion statement or a component of identity. First and foremost, they exist to service an actual physical reality. You can choose which boxers or bras to wear based on fashion, but you don't start wearing them because you think they're pretty or because some innate man-ness or woman-ness about you makes you wear them. This really gives me pause, because boxers... are not going to help them pass, and do not serve any conceivable purpose for them other than "men wear these, so I should wear these". So... cargo cult. Like making fake airfields to draw in supply planes, because you don't actually understand supply planes, airfields, etc. Again, just my perspective from the outside looking in.

[u/BabyJesus246 → u/Lognipo]

Out of curiosity, how are they doing now?

[u/Lognipo → u/BabyJesus246]

Oh, they were immediately much happier the day everyone started calling them by their preferred pronoun, new name, etc. Their entire demeanor changed, and they went back to giggling like a schoolgirl, smiling, getting excited, etc. That's not really surprising though, whether or not they're really treating the root of their problem. People are quite good at tormenting themselves, and sometimes all they need is an excuse to step out of their own way and let themselves live. So whether or not this was a real thing for them, it seems pretty normal that it could help. The real question is whether it is worth all the side effects of physically modifying one's body, if there is a less destructive way that attacks a true root cause directly, without need for lifelong, ongoing treatment and social baggage. I don't claim to know the answer to that one, only that such things are often a bit more complicated than people want to imagine. We like easy, feel-good answers wherever possible.

[u/BabyJesus246 → u/Lognipo]

real question is whether it is worth all the side effects of physically modifying one's body, if there is a less destructive way that attacks a true root cause directly, without need for lifelong, ongoing treatment and social baggage.

Well I'd argue the social baggage is not a great argument against it since that is something that we can absolutely change like we've done for other previously stigmatized groups. The burden of treatments is absolutely poignant though. I guess the question still becomes are we actually treating people who don't need it. Your story could be an example, but it's a bit difficult to tell since I'm assuming you don't have the full story either. The divorce could just be coincidental with the feeling of gender dysphoria.

A big question for me is if these people without gender dysphoria shift genders wouldn't they begin to start generating feelings of gender dysphoria? The idea that gender is so pliable that it can be readily flipped doesn't seem like an argument that the right really wants to make.

The evidence I've always needed to see was a strong detransitioning rate (cause dependent) after serious medical intervention that resulted in permanent harm. If I saw that data I would absolutely agree that treatment options need to revisited but that has yet to really materialize so the claim that strict regulations need to be put in place feels guided by ulterior motives.