United States | Trans fix?

A big transgender-rights case heads to America’s Supreme Court

The justices take on paediatric gender medicine

Thousands of queer, trans and non-binary people participat in the first Gender Liberation March in Washington, DC.
Photograph: Erica Lansner/Redux/Eyevine

A case to be heard by the Supreme Court on December 4th is set to reignite debate about one of the election’s most controversial issues: the rights of transgender people, and specifically the medical transitioning of minors. In 2023, Tennessee enacted Senate Bill 1 (SB1), which bans puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery for minors who identify as trans. It is one of 26 states that have done so. Now, in United States v Skrmetti, the federal government, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is suing Tennessee on behalf of the parents of three teenagers, claiming the ban violates the equal-protection clause of the constitution’s 14th Amendment.

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