DETROIT - Today, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti that allows Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth to remain in effect - as can the bans currently enacted in 25 other states throughout the country.
Michigan does not have a ban on trans youth accessing gender-affirming care, and trans youth can still access the life-saving healthcare they need. Likewise, healthcare providers can continue to provide this care in Michigan.
The legal challenge was brought by three transgender adolescents, their families, and a Memphis-based medical provider against a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming hormone therapies for transgender people under 18.
“While today’s ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti is a deeply flawed decision that will have devastating consequences for trans youth and their families across the country, it has no legal bearing on Michigan youth and healthcare providers as our state, fortunately, does not have a ban on this lifesaving care,” said Jay Kaplan, ACLU of Michigan Nancy Katz & Margo Dichtelmiller LGBTQ+ Rights Project Staff Attorney. “This ruling discriminates against transgender children given that cisgender children can still access the same medication and therapies that these bans prohibit trans kids from accessing. While we have seen continued targeted attacks on the trans community in our state, it is crucial that trans youth and their loved ones know that gender affirming care is still safe and accessible and legal despite today’s ruling. It is also supported by every major medical, pediatric, and psychological association in the U.S. We call on our lawmakers and state leaders to do their jobs and join us as we continue our fight to preserve access to healthcare for all - especially the most vulnerable among us.”
“Thankfully, nothing in this decision legally impacts the ability of families in Michigan to access this care for kids who need it,” said Emme Zanotti, Senior Director of Movement Building & Political Affairs at Equality Michigan Action Network. “Most unfortunate about this decision today, is that at the true heart of it, you had the plaintiffs, two parents, pleading to keep their 16-year-old daughter’s medical care available. Trying to move heaven and earth the way any parent would to make sure they can legally do what’s best for their child. And the State of Tennessee deprived them of that ability to do what’s best for their daughter, as we’ve seen ideologically conservative states do to parents, young people, and families across this country.”
U.S. v. Skrmetti began when a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP on behalf of Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville and their 16-year-old transgender daughter, as well as two other plaintiff families filing anonymously and Memphis-based physician Dr. Susan Lacy. The plaintiff families and Dr. Lacy argued that the law violates the Equal Protection rights of transgender adolescents. Under President Joe Biden, the United States intervened to also argue that the Tennessee law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. After President Trump’s inauguration, the U.S. reversed its position.
Since 2021, 25 states have enacted categorical bans on gender-affirming medical care, such as hormone therapy and puberty-suppressant medications, for treating gender dysphoria in transgender youth yet readily allow those same medications for other and similar purposes for cisgender youth. Over 100,000 transgender people under 18 now live in a state with a ban on their health care.
In January 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order directing federal agencies to withhold funds from medical providers and institutions that provide gender-affirming medical treatments such as puberty suppressants and hormone therapies to any trans person under 19. That order was soon challenged on behalf of families, medical providers, and advocates by the ACLU and the Lambda Legal in a separate lawsuit, and is blocked from enforcement by a preliminary injunction.
Find the recording of today’s press conference here.
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