A nonprofit run by medical professionals who oppose transgender treatments and surgeries for minors is holding a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on December 4 to support Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti as he argues in favor of legislation that blocks such treatments in the Volunteer State.
Activist Chloe Cole, who previously identified as transgender before detransitioning to her biological female gender, confirmed the nonprofit Do No Harm will hold its rally on the steps of the Supreme Court in a post to the social media post X.
“Tennessee’s age restriction law is being considered by the Supreme Court,” wrote Cole. She questioned, “Does the constitution protect the right of kids to mutilate and sterilize themselves?” Also, she said the case would set a precedent for other states with legislation blocking minors from medical intervention for their gender identity.
“All children deserve the opportunity to grow up healthy and whole,” wrote Do No Harm in a flyer for the rally. “All parents deserve to make informed decisions to protect their children without emotional blackmail by doctors blinded by ideology.”
Do No Harm explains on its website it “represents physicians, nurses, medical students, patients, and policymakers focused on keeping identity politics out of medical education, research, and clinical practice.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom, which filed an amicus brief in support of Tennessee in the lawsuit, said in a post to social media the rally will send a “clear message” to “stop experimenting on children.”
The Biden-Harris administration brought a lawsuit after Tennessee adopted the Protecting Children from Gender Mutilation Act, or SB 1, in March 2023.
While the Biden administration accuses Tennessee’s law of violating the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Skrmetti argued in response that the legislation cannot violate the Constitution because it “includes no sex classification” and “draws a line between minors seeking drugs for gender transition and minors seeking drugs for other medical purposes.”
The attorney general argued, “Tennessee lawfully exercised its power to regulate medicine by protecting minors from risky, unproven gender-transition interventions. It is not unconstitutional discrimination to say that drugs can be prescribed for one reason but not another. Weighing risks and benefits, States (and the federal government) draw age- and use-based distinctions for drugs all the time.”
Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) said in October that the Supreme Court should allow states to set their own laws regarding transgender treatments for minors.
“Not only do I believe passionately about the policy here and we have a compelling interest in the state to protect children, but this is also very much a state’s rights issue,” said Johnson during an appearance on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
He told Leahy, the editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star, that laws governing transgender treatment for minors are “A Tenth Amendment issue” and “states should have the right to pass laws like this to protect children.”
With similar political leanings among the nine justices, the Supreme Court similarly determined states have the right to set their own abortion policy in 2022.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
