U.S. Supreme Court Decision: United States v. Skrmetti, et al. (No.23-477) (Order Finding Tennessee Law Banning Certain Medical Care for Transgender Minors Does Not Violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment)

Excerpt:  “When properly understood from the perspective of the indications that puberty blockers and hormones treat, SB1 clearly does not classify on the basis of sex. Both puberty blockers and hormones can be used to treat certain overlapping indications (such as gender dysphoria), and each can be used to treat a range of other conditions. Id., at 6–7. These combinations of drugs and indications give rise to various medical treatments. When, for example, a transgender boy (whose biological sex is female) takes puberty blockers to treat his gender incongruence, he receives a different medical treatment than a boy whose biological sex is male who takes puberty blockers to treat his precocious puberty.2 SB1, in turn, restricts which of these medical treatments are available to minors: Under SB1, a healthcare provider may administer puberty blockers or hormones to any minor to treat a congenital defect, precocious puberty, disease, or physical injury, Tenn. Code Ann. §68–33–103(b)(1)(A); a healthcare provider may not administer puberty blockers or hormones to any minor to treat gender dysphoria, gender identity disorder, or gender incongruence, see §§68–33–102(1), 68–33–103(a)(1), (b)(2). The application of that prohibition does not turn on sex.”