Oral arguments in US v. Skrmetti will occur on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. We at QueerDoc will be watching the hearing.
US v. Skrmetti
US v. Skrmetti is the lawsuit on Tennessee’s discriminatory ban on safe medical care for transgender youth. The legal question at the center of the suit is whether a state banning medical care for transgender youth is discriminatory and unconstitutional. The Tennessee law bans specific medical care for transgender youth, but not for cis youth. This sure looks discriminatory to us.
The question in front of the court is if Tennessee’s ban on medical care for transgender youth that is allowed for cis youth is a form of sex discrimination, which is unconstitutional according to the 14th amendment to the US Constitution. The plaintiffs (the Biden administration, represented by Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar and the ACLU, represented by Chase Strangio) will argue that it is. The defendant, the State of Tennessee, represented by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, will argue that sex discrimination is not at play. There have been legal decisions that discrimination on the basis of gender is a form of sex discrimination to support the plaintiff’s argument.
We’re not lawyers, but we know some awesome folks doing fantastic coverage of this case. We’re reading and following them now, and we will continue to do so in the coming months. We’ll also continue to report on legislative happenings and court cases in the states that we serve in. You can keep up with posts via our Blog Index.
The Supreme Court might not announce their decision in this case until June, 2025, so we may be in for a long wait. However, the implications of how SCOTUS decides are pretty intense and could affect care across the country for transgender and cis people alike.
For background information on US v. Skrmetti:
Articles and Essays:
- LawDork: On next week’s SCOTUS trans care case – and some lessons from the past (good discussion of the history of related legal cases and the landscape of current cases about youth gender care)
- Lambda Legal: What’s at Stake? L.W. vs Skrmetti at the Supreme Court
- 19thnews.org: How the Supreme Court case on trans youth could affect healthcare for all Americans (may be helpful in understanding some of the implications of how the Supreme Court might rule.)
- ACLU: Supreme Court Oral Arguments in Landmark Transgender Rights Case Scheduled for December 4
Podcasts and Videos:
- TransLash podcast U.S. v. Skrmetti with Chase Strangio
- @feminist and @chasestrangio discussing the case on Instagram – another really accessible discussion on history and what’s at stake.
- @feminist
- @chasestrangio (Chase is a transgender lawyer and will be arguing the case at SCOTUS)
We are also expecting reporting from Erin Reed and Assigned Media.
“The United States v. Skrmetti case is focused on whether Tennessee’s gender-affirming care ban violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. The state insists that its ban has nothing to do with sex and that it does not target trans people. Instead, the law “sets age and use-based limits,” Tennessee’s attorney general argues. Minors can still access hormones and puberty blockers for medical purposes, as long as those treatments are not being used as part of a gender transition or to alleviate gender dysphoria. The state claims such a distinction is not based on sex because ‘neither boys nor girls can use these drugs for gender transition.'”
19thnews.org
Information and Citations in Support of Adolescent Gender Care
- Citations Supporting Adolescent Gender Care – April 2024
- Dr. Crystal Beal’s Response to Legislative Bans on Youth Gender Affirming Medical Care
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