Supreme Court OKs Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for kids, a major setback for transgender rights

A group of people hug each other.

Opponents of Senate Bill 140 console each other after the measure passed out of the Georgia House Public Health Committee in March 2023. The measure, which banned most medical treatments that help transgender kids affirm their gender identity, became law that year. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

This story was updated on Wednesday, June 18 at 2:14 p.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, a stunning setback to transgender rights.

The justices’ 6-3 decision in a case from Tennessee effectively protects from legal challenges many efforts by President Donald Trump’s Republican administration and state governments to roll back protections for transgender people. Another 26 states have laws similar to the one in Tennessee — including Georgia, which banned most medical treatments that help transgender kids affirm their gender identity in 2023.