The U.S. Supreme Court announced a landmark decision on Wednesday in the case of United States v. Skrmetti, upholding a Tennessee law that bans “gender-affirming care” for minors.
The state law, which passed the Tennessee General Assembly as Senate Bill (SB) 1 and was signed by Governor Bill Lee in 2023, forbids healthcare providers from performing or administering to underage children “gender-affirming” medical procedures or treatments – including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and sex-change surgeries – for the purpose of enabling the child to identify with the opposite gender.
A challenge to the law was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and families of transgender children.
The U.S. Department of Justice joined the lawsuit under the Biden administration but dropped its support for the non-government plaintiffs in February 2025 under the Trump administration.
Landmark VICTORY for Tennessee at SCOTUS in defense of America’s children! #Skrmetti pic.twitter.com/jqBao5MBNx
— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) June 18, 2025
Oral arguments were heard in the case before the Supreme Court on December 4, 2024, in which Tennessee Solicitor General Matt Rice defended the state law.
In the 6-3 ruling released Wednesday, the nation’s highest court held that the state law is not subject to heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and satisfies rational basis review.
Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett joined the majority opinion. Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.
Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion:
This case carries with it the weight of fierce scientific and policy debates about the safety, efficacy, and propriety of medical treatments in an evolving field. The Equal Protection Clause does not resolve these disagreements. The Court’s role is not “to judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic” of SB1[…]but only to ensure that the law does not violate equal protection guarantees. It does not. Questions regarding the law’s policy are thus appropriately left to the people, their elected representatives, and the democratic process.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti applauded the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case, saying, “In today’s historic Supreme Court win, the common sense of Tennessee voters prevailed over judicial activism.”
“The rapid and unexplained rise in the number of kids seeking these life-altering interventions, despite the lack of supporting evidence, calls for careful scrutiny from our elected leaders. This victory transcends politics. It’s about real Tennessee kids facing real struggles. Families across our state and our nation deserve solutions based on science, not ideology. Today’s landmark decision recognizes that the Constitution lets us fulfill society’s highest calling – protecting our kids,” Skrmetti added.
The Tennessee House Republican Caucus said the Supreme Court’s upholding of the law marks a “proud day for the Volunteer State and for all who believe in protecting the innocence and well-being of America’s children.”
“Tennessee House Republicans are pleased by the court’s courage to stand firm against ideology that denies biological reality. The sterilization and disfigurement of children will no longer be normalized. As we celebrate the precedent set by this decision, we remain committed to leading the nation in safeguarding the health, safety and future of all children,” the caucus added.
Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), who was an original sponsor of SB 1, thanked Skrmetti and his colleagues in the General Assembly for supporting the law and said he was “deeply grateful” for the Supreme Court justices who ruled to uphold the state law.
“This ruling sends a strong message to the country that states have a clear right and path forward to protect children from irreversible body mutilation,” Johnson said.
Members of the Tennessee congressional delegation also applauded Wednesday’s ruling by the court.
U.S. Representative Andy Ogles said, “Praise God! The Volunteer State is leading the charge against child exploitation—and this landmark SCOTUS win proves it.”
Ogles additionally announced he would begin drafting legislation to make Tennessee’s law the law of the land.
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) called the ruling “fantastic news,” while U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) said it was “Great to see that the Supreme Court has upheld Tennessee’s decision to protect our children from life-altering transgender treatments.”
The ACLU’s Chase Strangio, who argued against the Tennessee law in front of the Supreme Court and was the first transgender person in history to do so, called Wednesday’s ruling a “devastating loss for transgender people.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
This will put the immoral liberals in a tail spin. Anyone who would do this to a child should be in prison.