Statement by National NOW President Christian F. Nunes
WASHINGTON–The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in U.S. v Skrmetti sent a clear message to transgender youth who are struggling to get the life-saving healthcare they need: safe and effective gender-affirming care can help you, but we won’t let it.
The Court upheld Tennessee’s law banning best practice medical care for transgender people under 18—care that has been approved by all the major medical associations and has been scientifically proven to be safe and effective.
Now, thanks to the Supreme Court, that care is blocked for purely political reasons.
Since 2021, 26 states have banned hormone therapies for transgender youth after conservative legislatures pushed far-right, copy-cat legislation built on misinformation and conspiracy theories. They’re riding an ugly wave that is fueling a dangerous political movement built on exclusion, discrimination and denial that inequality even exists—a wave that has now reached the Supreme Court.
With this decision, the Supreme Court has given a green light to restrictive laws beyond Tennessee, intended to deny patients treatment to improve their physical, mental, and emotional health.
Decisions about medical care must be left to families and their doctors, not politicians who insert themselves in these personal and private discussions to score political points. We must focus on medical care and the people who need it.
NOW agrees with what Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent:
“[T]he majority subjects a law that plainly discriminates on the basis of sex to mere rational-basis review. By retreating from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most, the Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims.
“[The Court] authorizes, without second thought, untold harm to transgender children and the parents and families who love them. Because there is no constitutional justification for that result, I dissent.”
On behalf of equality, fairness, and the right for everyone to be their true selves. NOW dissents as well. And we will continue to support trans people, push back on disinformation, and fight for a better future.
