Posted on by Randy Slovacek

Appeals Court Allows Tennessee Ban On Gender-Affirming Care To Go Into Effect

BY a vote of 2-1, a panel of judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has ruled Tennessee's law prohibiting gender-affirming care (such as hormone therapy) for transgender minors can go into effect immediately.

By a vote of 2-1, a panel of judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has ruled Tennessee’s law banning gender-affirming care (such as hormone therapy) for transgender minors can go into effect immediately.

From Chris Geidner at Law Dork:

The two judges in the majority, Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton and Judge Amul Thapar, are the only two judges in the country to rule that such bans — passed in several states with Republican legislatures — are likely constitutional.

“We may be wrong,” Sutton wrote for the majority, after citing the unbroken string of rulings to the contrary. “We appreciate their perspectives, and they give us pause. But they do not eliminate our doubts about the ultimate strength of the challengers’ claims ….”

Both Sutton and Thapar were appointed by Republican presidents — George W. Bush and Donald Trump, respectively. It should be noted, however, that the preliminary injunction in the case — which the Sixth Circuit stayed with its ruling — was issued by another Trump appointee, Judge Eli Richardson.

In addition to Richardson, judges in five other states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, and Kentucky — have also found that such bans are unconstitutional or likely unconstitutional, depending on the procedural posture of the case.

A panel of judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has already upheld a lower court’s preliminary injunction against Arkansas’s law.

Tennessee’s Gov. Bill Lee signed the legislation into law in May. Since 2015, Tennessee has passed more anti-LGBTQ laws (19) than any other state.

As I’ve noted many times on The Randy Report, every single major medical organization, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association, supports the provision of age-appropriate, gender-affirming care for transgender and non-binary people.