The Supreme Court reportedly announced Monday that it will take up a key transgender rights case next term, reviewing the validity of Tennessee’s legislation prohibiting gender-affirming care for children.
The high court had previously eschewed several opportunities to intervene in cases involving transgender controversies, but after being encouraged by the Biden administration to take up the latest disagreement, the justices agreed to finally do so.
The argument over whether Tennessee’s statute unconstitutionally discriminates on the basis of sex is set to take place during the court’s next annual session.
Oral arguments are expected to be scheduled at the conclusion of the calendar year.
The judges’ eventual judgment is expected to have an influence on laws passed in Tennessee and other Republican-controlled legislatures.
Almost half of the country has so-far prohibited sex change operations for minors.
Some laws also restrict care for transgender individuals, and legislation presented this year in a few conservative states seek to abolish gender-affirming medical care entirely.
Legal challenges filed by advocates for transgenderism have yielded mixed outcomes, with federal appeals courts divided on whether statutes prohibiting the operations are constitutional.
A federal district judge has decided to impose an injunction against Tennessee’s law.
On appeal, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals merged it with a similar case emerging from Kentucky and reversed, giving the two Republican-led states a victory.
The Supreme Court’s order now permits the Justice Department’s request to review Tennessee’s law, but solely to determine whether it violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
The other plaintiffs also asked the justices to assess whether it violated due process rights.
Tennessee urged the Supreme Court to remain out of the case, which would preserve the statute, claiming that the justices should let the issue play out in the lower courts.
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