'We won': Social media erupts over SCOTUS ruling dealing 'fatal blow' to transgender surgeries on minors
Conservatives on social media rejoiced on social media Wednesday after the Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law banning gender-transition treatments for adolescents.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Tennessee's Senate Bill 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,'" does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Conservatives on social media, who viewed the ruling as a win for parents' rights, quickly praised the court ruling.
"A huge victory," conservative commentator Matt Walsh posted on X. "A fatal blow to the child mutilation industry. We won."
"A massive win for sanity," Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X.
"This is a massive!" Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk posted on X. "A wonderful victory for decency, common sense, and our kids Now we need a nationwide ban! Onward."
"Awesome news!" GOP Rep. Riley Moore posted on X. "States absolutely can and should be able to protect children from chemical or surgical castration."
"This is a massive victory for common sense and the safety of our youth," American Principles Project posted on X. "No more irreversible harm in the name of ideology!"
"WE NEED A NATIONWIDE BAN ON TRANSGENDER SURGERIES AND HORMONE DRUGS FOR MINORS," conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the law in question is not subject to heightened scrutiny "because it does not classify on any bases that warrant heightened review."
All three liberal justices notably dissented in the case.
That law in question prohibits states from allowing medical providers to deliver puberty blockers and hormones to facilitate a minor's transition to another sex.
It also targets healthcare providers in the state who continue to provide such procedures to gender-dysphoric minors — opening these providers up to fines, lawsuits and other liability.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
41 minutes ago
- Axios
Support for regulating psychoactive hemp gains momentum in NC
Bipartisan support for restricting hemp in North Carolina is gaining steam, with GOP lawmakers unveiling yet another proposal Tuesday that would regulate intoxicating weed-like products in the state. Why it matters: The new legislation, backed by the state's most powerful Republican, is one of several bills proposed in recent months that would crack down on psychoactive hemp products in North Carolina. Though marijuana remains illegal in any form, the state is among the most lenient in the country in its regulation of hemp-derived consumables, but a bipartisan movement to change that has been building. What they're saying: "Stores selling these hemp products are popping up in towns across North Carolina, and children are getting ahold of these products," Senate Leader Phil Berger said in a press release about the bill Monday night. "Without these regulations, the availability of these dangerous products is only going to get worse." Driving the news: On Tuesday morning, Republican lawmakers in North Carolina's state Senate rolled out the most restrictive yet viable proposal yet to regulate hemp while moving to ban products made with any hemp-derived cannabinoids other than delta-9, the psychoactive component of marijuana. The bill would also set age and dosage limits and licensing and testing standards for sellers and manufacturers. Yes, but: It would not legalize marijuana, however — a proposal that has been floated in previous sessions but has yet to surface this year. Flashback: "It's really ironic that in some ways, the most liberal, pro-marijuana adult-use state in the country is North Carolina," Democratic Gov. Josh Stein told WRAL in an exclusive interview earlier this month, in which he also announced he was launching a task force to explore regulations on THC products and marijuana legalization "It's not Colorado, it's not Massachusetts, it's not these states that legalized it and then created a regulatory structure to sell it. It's North Carolina, where we have no rules whatsoever." State of play: As of now, the state has no limits — or age restrictions — on any cannabinoids with psychoactive effects much like those of THC, including delta-9. The new bill unveiled Tuesday, however, would outright ban "synthetic" high-inducing hemp products that can be found on shelves just a few blocks from the state legislature, including delta-8, THC-A, delta-7 and delta-10. The bill also appears to ban CBD, another hemp-derived cannabinoid. The cannabis plant has more than 100 cannabinoids. Some of them produce a weed-like high, while others, like CBD, are not. The other side: House Rules Chairman Rep. John Bell, who is the president of CBD and hemp manufacturer Asterra Labs, is "disappointed in the bill," he told Axios in a text message Tuesday. "This bill will destroy the hemp industry and move it out of state. Not one stakeholder was involved." He had not expressed the same opposition to another bill proposed earlier this session that would regulate his industry, though he told Axios at the time that the legislation wouldn't necessarily be a slam dunk for his company because it would implement new licensing fees and require changes to how it packages its products, for example. Democrats and Republicans alike expressed support for the new legislation, however, when it was unveiled in a committee hearing Tuesday morning. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson also attended the committee meeting. "This is long overdue," Jackson, a Democrat, told lawmakers. "One of the major themes in terms of feedback that I've gotten from law enforcement and from families over the last six months has been about this issue — and usually happens when a family learns that it is truly the Wild West, at least with respect to what children are allowed to buy in these places."
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
LGBTQ advocacy, legal groups condemn court decision on gender affirming care ban: ‘Catastrophic failure for our nation's youth'
Chicago area Trans and LGBTQ+ community groups responded with disappointment and anger Wednesday to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care. Representatives from Trans Up Front Illinois, Brave Space Alliance, Equality Illinois and Arcus Behavioral Health — groups that provide resources to trans and non-binary people — condemned the decision during a Wednesday afternoon news conference. 'Today's Supreme Court ruling is a catastrophic failure for our nation's youth,' Brian Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, an LGBTQ+ rights advocacy group said at the Center on Halsted. 'By upholding Tennessee's discriminatory ban on gender affirming care, the court has allowed dangerous double standards.' In the case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, three families with transgender children and a healthcare provider challenged Tennessee's law banning puberty blockers and hormone treatment for trans minors. The state has kept those drugs legally available for other purposes. Plaintiffs argued the ban violates their Constitutional right to equal protection under the law, while Tennessee contended it is necessary to protect children. Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union Illinois and Lambda Legal's Illinois chapter said the court incorrectly concluded that Tennessee's ban wasn't a form of sex discrimination — prohibited by the Constitution's 14th Amendment. The court's opinion that the ban only implicates what the law allows people of different ages to do came as a result of 'mental gymnastics' and 'logistical hoops,' said Doug Curtis, Midwest Director of Lambda Legal — a nonprofit advocacy group. Chicago trans rights advocates said they're worried the ruling could push trans youth in other states to more dangerous, unsupervised sources of gender affirming care in states with bans similar to Tennessee. Channyn Lynne Parker, CEO of Brave Space Alliance, said after she sought out black market prescription hormones to help her transition during her teenage years, she developed life-threatening blood clots that left her with lung scarring. She worries that the pattern will repeat with Tennessee's ban upheld. 'It will only drive them to the underground, making preventable tragedies more likely,' Parker said. 'We owe it to every young person to ensure that they have access to safe, affirming healthcare.' Despite the Supreme Court's decision, advocates stressed that Illinois continues to be a sanctuary state for young people and families seeking gender affirming care. The state has shield laws for patients seeking gender affirming care and doctors who provide it. Illinois' Human Rights Act also prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, said Michelle García, ACLU Illinois Deputy Legal Director. 'Come to Illinois,' García said. 'We will protect you.' LGBTQ+ advocates were planning to hold a protest against the Skrmetti decision at noon Saturday in Federal Plaza.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
My Daughter Was at the Center of the Supreme Court Case on Trans Care. Our Hearts Are Broken.
There is something incredibly surreal about finding your family at the center of a landmark Supreme Court decision, from the robes and the formality to the long, red velvet curtains behind the justices. No mother imagines that her everyday fight to do right by her child would land her there. My daughter, L.W., came out as transgender late in 2020. She was just shy of 13. Four and a half years later, she is thriving, healthy and happy after pursuing evidence-based gender-affirming care. But the very care that is improving her life became a primary political target of the Republican supermajority in our home state, Tennessee. When the legislature banned my daughter's care in 2023, we fought back by suing the state. Today, we found out that we lost that case when the Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, to uphold Tennessee's ban on such care. I am beside myself. Our heartfelt plea was not enough. The compelling, expert legal arguments by our lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal were not enough. I had to face my daughter and tell her that our last hope is gone. She's angry, scared and hurt that the American system of democracy that we so put on a pedestal didn't work to protect her. My family did not start this journey to land in Washington in front of that white marble hall of justice. We ended up there through parental and civic duty. My and my husband's demands in our lawsuit against the ban felt quite basic: Let us do our job as parents. Let us love and care for our daughter in the best way we and our doctors know how. Don't let our child's very existence be a political wedge issue. Being a teenager is hard enough. Being a parent of a teenager is hard enough. Raising a transgender kid in Tennessee, we know that not everyone understands people like her or her health care — and that's OK. We don't need to agree on everything. But we do need our fundamental rights respected. I have devoted myself to finding our daughter consistent care in one state after another. The nightmare of our disrupted life pales in comparison to the nightmare of losing access to the health care that has allowed our daughter to thrive. After Tennessee passed its ban, we traveled to another provider in a different state. After that state passed a ban, we moved on to another one. We are now on our fourth state. The five-hour drive each way, taking time off work and school, is hard, but thankfully, we found a clinic and pharmacy that take our insurance. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
