The Supreme Court on Monday allowed widespread enforcement of a new law aimed at banning gender-affirming care for minors in Idaho.
The decision was overruled by two lower courts that upheld an injunction against the law as litigation over its constitutionality continued.
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The decision was backed by all six of the high court’s conservative members. The three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — indicated they would have kept the law on hold.
“Ordinarily, injunctions like these may go no further than necessary to provide interim relief to the parties,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in a statement concurring with the court’s decision. “In this case, however, the district court went much further, prohibiting a state from enforcing any aspect of its duly enacted law against anyone.”
In a legal twist, the court granted permission for the parents and their two children, who initiated the lawsuit against the legislation, to continue accessing treatments during the legal process. The youngsters are seeking puberty blockers and estrogen, which their families and medical practitioners deem crucial for their mental well-being.
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Expressing dissent, Jackson contended that the higher court should have refrained from intervening in such a high-profile case prematurely, disrupting what she characterized as the established legal framework.
“In my perspective, we should resist being drawn into action when our involvement amounts to excessive interference in the lower courts’ discretionary powers amidst ongoing litigation,” Jackson expressed in her dissent.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Idaho jointly criticized the verdict as “dreadful.”
“While today’s ruling by the court does not directly address the constitutionality of this legislation, it nonetheless represents a dreadful outcome for transgender youth and their families throughout the state,” the joint statement remarked. “This ruling enables the state to halt the crucial care upon which numerous families rely, further breeding confusion and upheaval. Nevertheless, today’s outcome only strengthens our resolve to completely overturn this legislation in the legal arena, thereby making Idaho a safer environment for all families to thrive.”
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, who advocated for the enforcement of the law, released a statement in response to the decision.
“The state bears the responsibility to safeguard and uphold the welfare of all children, which is why I stand behind Idaho’s law ensuring that children are not subjected to these life-altering drugs and procedures,” he asserted in the statement. “Individuals grappling with gender dysphoria deserve compassion, support, and medical interventions grounded in biological reality. Rejecting the fundamental truth of biological distinctions between boys and girls harms our children. No one possesses the authority to inflict harm upon children, and I am grateful that, as a state, we possess the capability — and obligation — to shield them.”
Transgender youth face elevated risks of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, often stemming from gender-based discrimination and gender dysphoria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recent research published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that gender-affirming hormone therapy significantly enhances the mental well-being of transgender adolescents and teenagers.
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Numerous prominent national medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and more than 20 others, concur that gender-affirming care is not only safe and effective but also medically indispensable.
