WH praises SCOTUS ruling upholding TN ban on transgender treatments: ‘Victory for America's children'
The White House on Thursday praised the Supreme Court's ruling that a Tennessee law banning puberty blockers and other treatments for transgender minors did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment.
During the daily briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared it "a huge victory for America's children."
"And it's obviously something this administration believes strongly in that young, minor children should not be allowed to be subjected to chemical castration and mutilation."
Leavitt said Trump has signed "very strong executive orders" on the subject and that the administration is "grateful" for Nashville's efforts to protect Tennessee youth.
"And we are grateful the Supreme Court ruled on the side of the law [and] on the side of protecting America's innocent children."
The case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, was brought by three transgender minors and their families. The Biden administration was able to join as namesake plaintiff due to a law allowing the president to be party to lawsuits regarding the Equal Protection Clause.
Then-Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued for the administration -- while later, the ensuing Trump administration opposed the Biden position, but the case continued.
On Wednesday, a 6-3 ruling upheld TN SB 1, which "prohibits all medical treatments intended to allow 'a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex' or to treat 'purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's sex and asserted identity."
Chief Justice John Roberts said the law in question did not "classify on any bases that warrant heightened review."
"This case carries with it the weight of fierce scientific and policy debates about the safety, efficacy, and propriety of medical treatments in an evolving field," he said.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti – the defendant -- said in a statement that the law had been supported by a "bipartisan supermajority of Tennessee's elected representatives" who "carefully considered the evidence and voted to protect kids from irreversible decisions they cannot yet fully understand."
"I commend the Tennessee legislature and Governor Lee for their courage in passing this legislation and supporting our litigation despite withering opposition from the Biden administration, LGBT special interest groups, social justice activists, the American Medical Association, the American Bar Association, and even Hollywood," he said.
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This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright 2025
