Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s historic decision on transgender care

The conservative Supreme Court dealt a significant blow to transgender Americans on Wednesday, issuing a sweeping decision that may have implications beyond the medical care that was at center of one of the court’s highest-profile disputes this year.

The conservative Supreme Court dealt a significant blow to transgender Americans on Wednesday, issuing a sweeping decision that may have implications beyond the medical care that was at center of one of the court’s highest-profile disputes this year. The 6-3 ruling, which landed at a moment when transgender Americans are facing political and cultural setbacks after years of gains, let stand a Tennessee law that banned puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors seeking to transition to match their gender identity. Transgender advocates framed the ruling as a “devastating loss,” but also hoped its impact may be limited to cases involving health care. The decision came amid a much broader debate over other laws aimed at transgender people, including the question of whether people can play on sports teams and use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. Here’s what to know about Wednesday’s decision: The court had largely dodged the issue of transgender rights for years but handed down a number of important victories to the LGBTQ+ community more broadly. Most notably, of course, was the historic decision a decade ago to legalize same-sex marriage. More on point, the high court in 2020 ruled that a federal law that bars workplace discrimination based on sex also necessarily prohibits that discrimination based on gender identity – a significant win for transgender Americans.