In a landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law restricting some medical treatments for transgender minors.
That law was challenged by the Biden administration and three families arguing the treatments are lifesaving for teens diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
It's a decision that could have a direct impact in Montana , one of 26 other states with restrictions on gender-affirming care.
See story on U.S. Supreme Court ruling here:
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that a Tennessee law prohibiting puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and some surgeries does not violate the 14th Amendment and does not discriminate based on sex.
“Children deserve protection from our states, not experimentation,” said Derek Oestreicher, Montana Family Foundation (MFF) chief legal counsel.
The MFF says this ruling is good for children, while the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) calls this a devastating loss.
“General concern about this atmosphere of anti-transgender animus,” said Alex Rate, ACLU Montana deputy director & legal director.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, stating: “Our role is not to judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic of the law before us. We leave questions regarding its policy to the people, their elected representatives, and the democratic process."
“States should be emboldened to pass legislation that protects children from irreversible consequences,” Oestreicher said. “Unfortunately, I think we're going to see an epidemic of children experiencing these consequences later on in life unless states make moves to protect them now.”
Dissenting Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that with the decision: “The court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims."
"These decisions should be made between an individual, their family, and their health care provider,” Rate said. “And the government has no business inserting itself into that medical room.”
In December, the Montana Supreme Court agreed with the lower court that the law prohibiting minors with gender dysphoria from getting surgical and medical treatments is unconstitutional.
The courts ruled on Senate Bill 99 that was passed during the 2023 Montana Legislature.
In May, a U.S. District Court judge issued a permanent injunction blocking the law.
And now there is some disagreement about how this U.S. Supreme Court ruling will affect Montana law.
“The Legislature is not giving up and the state of Montana is not giving up on making sure that we have definitions that make sense, that are objective, that sex is immutable,” Oestreicher said. “You can't change it, and that we're going to protect children from these dangerous experiments.”
“We enjoy greater constitutional protections under our state constitution than exist under the federal constitution,” Rate said. “And so gender affirming care for transgender minors remains legal in the state and will for the foreseeable future.”
