Transgender people under 18 face laws that bar them from accessing gender-affirming health care in 25 states — just a few years ago, not a single state had such a law.
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case from Tennessee in its next term that challenges that state’s gender-affirming care ban for young people.
“Pressure had been mounting for the Supreme Court to weigh in here,” says Lindsey Dawson, director for LGBTQ Health Policy at the health research organization KFF.
Most of the state bans have been challenged in court, Dawson notes, with 20 state bans currently in effect. “We'd seen split decisions in the appeals courts, which is always an indication that an issue might be ripe for the Supreme Court.”
The details of the state bans vary, but the laws generally bar transgender minors from accessing puberty blockers, hormones and surgery (which is very rare for minors).
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