Equality California Condemns Supreme Court Decision Upholding State Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth

Washington, D.C. - Equality California released the following statement from Executive Director Tony Hoang in response to the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in the case of Skrmetti v. United States, which upheld Tennessee's ban on lifesaving healthcare for transgender youth.

"Healthcare decisions should be made between doctors, parents and children. This ruling permits the government to intrude into deeply personal medical decisions. It is a shameful and dangerous setback for transgender youth, their families, and every person who believes in freedom and bodily autonomy.

The Court has chosen politics over people, and is allowing states to strip transgender kids of the care they need to survive.

Under California law, transgender youth still have the right to access medical care, and families and doctors still have the freedom to make their own medical decisions free from political interference. This decision does nothing to change that. Sadly, for families in Tennessee and the 24 other states with similar bans in effect, this decision threatens their well-being, the safety of our communities, and the ability of every family to determine what's best for them.

Healthcare for transgender youth is supported by every major medical association in the United States. Denying this care is not only medically unsound-it's cruel. It puts transgender youth at greater risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide, and sends a chilling message that their lives are not worth protecting.

As Justice Sotomayor stated in her dissent, 'The 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…It also 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.'

While today's decision is devastating, it is not the end. There is still strong precedent showing that attacks targeting a minority group based on animus do indeed violate the Equal Protection Clause. We will continue to battle fiercely against Donald Trump and his fellow extremist politicians as they attack the rights and dignity of transgender people and their families.

Equality California remains committed to fighting alongside our partners to ensure that every transgender person-especially youth-can access the care they need, regardless of the state they call home.

Transgender people are not alone in this fight. Our community has faced relentless attacks before-Equality California will continue to stand together, fight back, and push forward until every transgender person can live freely, safely, and with dignity.

Until the work is done."

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