Critics have denounced the ruling as endangering transgender youth by preventing medical access to puberty blockers.
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that a Tennessee law barring puberty blockers and hormone therapies for transgender minors does not violate the US Constitution and can therefore remain in effect.
Wednesday’s decision was split along ideological lines, with the high court’s six conservative judges siding with Tennessee and its three left-leaning judges joining together for a dissent.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for the majority. In it, he explained that the plaintiffs — three transgender minors, their parents and a doctor — had not successfully shown a violation of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law.
The plaintiffs had sought to lift the ban, arguing that Tennessee’s law, known as SB1, discriminated against them based on their sex and gender.
