Appeals court allows Tennessee to enforce ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth
In a major blow to LGBTQ+ rights, a federal appeals court has allowed Tennessee to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.
Back in March, the state’s conservative governor Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 1 into law. Under the anti-trans legislation, trans youth would be barred from receiving lifesaving gender-affirming care like puberty blockers and hormone treatments.
While the law gave an exception to patients who started care before 1 July, it also required doctors to conclude their treatments by 21 March 2024.
Shortly after it was signed into law, the ACLU immediately challenged the harmful legislation – resulting in US District Judge Eli Richardson issuing a preliminary injunction on 28 June. “The Court realizes that today’s decision will likely stoke the already controversial fire regarding the rights of transgender individuals in American society on the one hand, and the countervailing power of states to control certain activities within their borders and to use that power to protect minors,” he explained. “If Tennessee wishes to regulate access to certain medical procedures, it must do so in a manner that does not infringe on the rights conferred by the United States Constitution, which is of course supreme to all other laws of the land.
