Trump Should Support SCOTUS in Upholding Bans on Puberty Blockers for Gender-Confused Youth
Parents of gender-distressed children are closely monitoring the Supreme Court case US vs. Skrmetti with considerable apprehension.
The case addresses the constitutionality of a Tennessee law that prohibits the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for altering a minor’s sex characteristics.
Oral arguments are scheduled for Wednesday, although a ruling is not anticipated until the summer of 2025.
The incoming Trump administration will take over the case from Team Biden, which actively defended pediatric sex “changes” along with the associated industry.
Trump’s administration has the option to withdraw the Justice Department’s appeal, potentially terminating the case and leaving the matter unresolved, or allow it to continue for a court ruling.
Ending it would be unwise. With a 6-3 conservative majority on the court, a strong legal case from the Sixth Circuit where it originated, and an alarming evidentiary record, a favorable outcome for Tennessee appears possible.
This would represent a significant triumph for child welfare as well.
A ruling in favor of Tennessee would not only likely conclude constitutional challenges to similar child-protection laws in approximately two dozen states; it would also have far-reaching implications affecting millions of American families.
Gender ideology has permeated not just healthcare but also K-12 education and child protective services.
Parents residing in blue states who refuse to “affirm” their children’s gender confusion often fear intervention from child protective services.
One of us, Erin Friday, has experienced this firsthand: CPS visited her home following a contentious call with her daughter’s school, which insisted on using a male name for her daughter despite Erin’s explicit instructions.
Medical professionals pressured Erin to simply accept her daughter’s desire to be a boy.
However, Erin held firm, and two years later, her daughter embraced her identity as a girl again without medical intervention.
Contrary to evidence-based practices, schools nationwide are socially transitioning children on demand—sometimes without parental knowledge.
If the court investigates the reality of “gender-affirming care,” it will uncover a medical scandal.
Numerous briefs, including contributions from each of us, highlight how the medical community has strayed in this field.
Get opinions and commentary from our columnists
Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter!
Thanks for signing up!
The primary organization promoting hormones and surgeries is the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which lacks professionalism and genuine health concern.
Court documents have shown that WPATH commissioned evidence reviews and subsequently suppressed unfavorable results that contradicted its medicalized agenda.
They consulted “social-justice lawyers” who feared that disappointing findings could jeopardize WPATH’s policy influence or litigation success.
The leading author of WPATH’s most recent “standards of care” acknowledged that many contributors had conflicts of interest from their involvement in, advocacy for, and benefits from these procedures.
WPATH’s former president, Marci Bowers, one such contributor, confessed in a deposition to earning over $1 million from gender surgeries in 2023.
Moreover, WPATH did not incorporate more cautious, evidence-based views on its guideline committee. Bowers conceded it was “absolutely” critical for someone advocating for [gender transition] treatments to join the guideline’s development process.
The “standards of care,” Bowers privately admitted to colleagues, reflect “a balancing act between what I feel to be true and what we need to say.”
Shortly after releasing the 2022 “standards of care,” WPATH issued a correction removing age minimums for hormones and surgeries.
They did this under pressure from Rachel Levine, the Biden administration’s assistant secretary for health and a transgender pediatrician, as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics.
WPATH’s leaders privately expressed frustration over prioritizing political pressure over scientific integrity.
This is a compelling circumstance, especially considering that at least 14,000 children underwent gender interventions between 2019 and 2023, according to the group Do No Harm.
An analysis by the Manhattan Institute of “top surgery”—double mastectomy—revealed evidence of at least 5,200 procedures performed on minors from 2017 to 2023.
This includes between 50 to 179 surgeries on girls aged 12½ or younger.
Americans are increasingly frustrated with “gender identity” extremism.
Recent polling by YouGov indicates that 54% of American voters oppose minors having access to puberty blockers, while only 19% support it.
A reckoning is already underway within the Democratic Party.
The coming years present a rare opportunity to challenge the gender industry, which relies on pseudoscience and flawed incentives.
Leon Sapir is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Erin Friday is an attorney and a leader at Our Duty USA.
