In United States v. Skrmetti the Supreme Court will consider whether Tennessee’s broad prohibitions on gender-affirming care for minors violates the Equal Protection Clause. Tennessee’s statute prohibits providers from administering “a medical procedure” to “[e]nabl[e] a minor to identify with…a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex” or “[t]reating purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor’s sex and asserted identity.” These prohibited procedures include “[s]urgically removing, modifying, altering, or entering into tissues, cavities, or organs” and “[p]rescribing, administering, or dispensing any puberty blocker or hormone.”
Notably, the law provides exceptions for children who need these treatments for conditions not related to gender dysphoria. The Tennessee law “permits the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat congenital conditions, precocious puberty, disease, or physical injury.”
