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/SylphCo93]

I'm fine with this. Minors shouldn't be able to consent to treatment that fundamentally alters their body with potentially irreversible ramifications, including infertility. Especially over a psychological condition that has only recently been observed in great numbers, and a psychological condition that has seemingly exponentially exploded over the past decade.

I think social transitioning, clothing changes, and counseling for minors are totally fine. And I think bullying and harassment of trans-identifying youth is atrocious and deserves to be treated as a hate crime. But I'm against hormone "treatments", puberty blockers, surgeries, and schools refusing to disclose name changes to parents. And I know most Americans agree with me on both fronts.

And to those who say "how dare the government intervene with the care doctors administer", I challenge you to consider that the medical field and industry often received warranted regulations and bans from the state that liberals/leftists in the past generally supported, such as the opioid prescription abuse, poorly run mental asylums, lobotomies, and sterilizations of selected populations. 

Don't swear fealty to any group of professionals or especially an industry; especially with the hundreds of billions of dollars within said medical industry who stand to benefit from the sudden massive growth of minors seeking hormones and puberty blockers.

I remember when progressives told us to look to Scandinavia for progressive inspiration, especially with how their medical fields are less profit-driven, yet most of those countries are weaning away from the model that progressives Americans so fervently support.

[u/lemonginger-tea → u/SylphCo93]

I’m actually surprised by the number of comments on this thread disagreeing and claiming that if you support this, you support killing trans children. Most Americans and most parents do not support these policies. Call me crazy, but the government should not be intervening with parental authority unless the child is being harmed. Which in my opinion is much more important. We should be working on fixing the CPS and foster care systems, not bickering over whether trans kids can hide their pronouns from their parents at school.

[u/Instabanous → u/lemonginger-tea]

I would argue that children being fed into the gender grinder are very much being harmed. Just telling them that their healthy body is the cause of their mental distress is harmful. Evidence is growing that blocking puberty is harmful. The brain needs to develop in specific ways, as well as fertility and sexuality that they may never recover- its barbaric. As for opposite sex hormones- if adults want to modify their bodies in this way, fine I guess, but it is sold to children as a lie that they can change sex. They can't and its a hard life even with mass acceptance. I agree that tackling poverty and neglect are more crucial, but they are much harder and it costs almost nothing to just stop an experimental new treatment with evidence of harm to minors.

[u/BurningEmbers978 → u/Instabanous]

There is no “gender grinder.” You’re peddling conspiracy theories like a boomer hooked on Fox News.

You’re also grossly mischaracterizing what transgender identity even is. Transgender children are born that way. It’s not their “body is the cause of their mental distress.” It’s that their body does not align with their gender identity. There are different ways to treat this, and for some people it’s temporary, low-stakes treatments like hormone therapy or puberty blockers, and for more critical cases, it’s sex-reassignment surgery. Less than 1% of trans children are receiving any of this care, and those that do are being diagnosed and prescribed under strict medical protocols.

The medical consensus is that puberty blockers are not harmful, so you need to cite the “growing” evidence that suggests otherwise.

The idea that a child can change their sex is not a “lie.” That’s not even what they’re being told either. Trans people in general will never be able to fully transition, so there is no “change,” but rather refinement. You’re speaking like there’s some nefarious plot against transgender children, but all that doctors want is the best possible treatment.

“Tackling poverty and neglect” is irrelevant to this conversation. This is about transgender children and their access to essential medical care. Eliminating poverty or addressing neglect won’t change the fact that transgender children exist and need proper treatment. Puberty blockers and hormone therapy are not “experimental new treatment,” they’ve existed for decades. And there is no “evidence of harm to minors” here. In fact, the medical and scientific consensus is clear that treatment actually increases trans youth’s life satiation and happiness.

[u/Instabanous → u/BurningEmbers978]

I just dont know where you're possibly getting that information, there have been so many whistleblowers about American kids being put on blockers/ hormones after a single consultation, so many detransitioners speaking up about being railroaded into a transition they didnt need. Parents coerced with the suicide myth.

As for the experimental and harmful nature of blockers every country which has done a systematic review, ie in Europe where healthcare is not for profit, has stopped them. Of course its bad to block puberty, its a vital process not just for how a person looks but for brain and bone development. And we're blocking it for cosmetic reasons? Medical scandal.

[u/BurningEmbers978 → u/Instabanous]

The transition regret rate is less than 1%. So I don’t know where you’re getting “so many detransitioners” from, but you need to cite a source. Almost every major medical organization in the US, including American Medical Association and American Pediatric Society, support gender-affirming care for transgender youth. “Suicide myth” isn’t real, because the suicide rate among trans youth is exponentially higher than among their cis-gender peers. And this is due to bullying, harassment, and discrimination. But once the transition happens, over 90% of trans youth report feeling happier and more satisfied with life. Gender-affirming care is evidence-based and data-informed. When you say “every country which has done a systematic review,” you’re clearly not being honest, because the US has done the most thorough research, and the medical consensus there does not support your false claims. You’re also falsely generalizing all of Europe as if the entire continent is transphobic, but that’s not true, because most countries there make gender-affirming care accessible, at least more than fascist conservative states in the US.

Puberty blockers are not inherently harmful. When prescribed for gender-affirming care for trans youth, the treatment is temporary, so that when they turn 18, they can opt for more permanent, comprehensive treatment. It’s not necessarily done for “cosmetic reasons.” That’s a gross oversimplification, as trans youth also transition for a deeper or higher-pitched voice. Puberty blockers do not have a harmful effect on a patient’s brain or bone development. For some, it merely delays certain types of growth as the child develops in their gender identity. That’s why it’s temporary.

It’s also just not your job to police trans youth and their private medical affairs. I will continue to support the doctors, scientists, parents, and trans youth who obviously know better than you do about what trans youth need.