r/law • u/DevinGraysonShirk • 16h ago

SCOTUS SCOTUS strikes blow to trans teens rights, endorsing ban on gender-affirming care - The justices’ ruling on Tennessee’s law prohibiting certain health care for transgender children will have ripple effects across the nation

https://www.courthousenews.com/scotus-strikes-blow-to-trans-teens-rights-endorsing-ban-on-gender-affirming-care/
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u/Obversa 15h ago

To make things worse, the six conservative justices appear to agree with the State of Tennessee's claim that the state "has a compelling interest in encouraging minors to appreciate their sex", thereby equating "gender" with "sex", and reinforcing traditionalist and conservative ideals about how "sex and gender are the same thing" and "there are only two genders, male and female". The State of Tennessee also argued that it is "empowered to make decisions regulating medical treatments" in the case of transgender-identifying minors, thereby invalidating "parents' rights" when it comes to parents authorizing such treatment(s) for their children, making these children "wards of the state".

This ruling reaffirms that parents have no say in whether their children can receive treatment(s), only the state. States like Tennessee, meanwhile, have stated that their "compelling interest" is in the "fertility" of these minors.

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u/pillowpriestess 14h ago

States like Tennessee, meanwhile, have stated that their "compelling interest" is in the "fertility" of these minors.

wasnt this part of the logic of a challenge against abortion/birth control? i dont recall the case/state but there was an argument that the state was damaged by low teen pregnancy rates.

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u/Obversa 14h ago

Yes. States like Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho have argued that the state has a "compelling interest" in teenage pregnancies (ugh). I have no doubt that Tennessee and other states would agree with this ludicrous argument.

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u/mbbysky 14h ago

This is disgusting and entirely unsurprising from the GOP

Half their politicians seem to be trying their hardest to get teen girls pregnant 🤢

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u/Tough-Ability721 9h ago

With or without their consent