The U.S. Supreme Court will today hear oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti, a challenge brought by transgender adolescents and their families against a Tennessee law banning hormone therapy for transgender youth. Represented by the ACLU, the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, the families argue that the ban violates their Equal Protection rights under the 14th Amendment.
Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, issued the following statement in advance of today’s hearing:
“The Tennessee ban is unconstitutional sex discrimination that violates the Equal Protection Clause, plain and simple. There is no transgender exception to the U.S Constitution. The Supreme Court must reject this effort to deny transgender people equal justice under the law.
“The same playbook against bodily autonomy that overturned Roe v. Wade is now being used to target transgender people’s health care. In fact, the Tennessee Attorney General’s brief in this case cited Dobbs at least 10 times in an attempt to justify its ban. Upholding this discriminatory ban could have severe implications for the freedom of all people to decide what is right for their own body and family. Twenty-three states have similar bans, and upholding Tennessee’s law could embolden state actors to ban access to other health care as well, like IVF and birth control. We all deserve the freedom to control our bodies and seek the health care we need.
“Facing nationwide threats to erase trans people and set back LGBTQ rights, transgender youth experience real dangers to their health and safety. We know that anti-transgender laws harm mental health and wellbeing, increasing anxiety, hopelessness, and even suicidality for young people. That’s why the ACLU is fighting – here in Massachusetts and nationwide – for the fundamental right of all people to be themselves: to be safe, to be loved, and to be given a chance to build the future they and their family deserve.”
For more information about U.S. v. Skrmetti, go to: https://www.aclu.org/cases/l-w-v-skrmetti
