Originally published at National Catholic Register
The United States Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case to determine the legality of a Tennessee law that prohibits doctors from performing so-called transgender surgeries on minors and prevents doctors from prescribing them puberty blockers and hormones.
The law is facing a legal challenge from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ administration as well as from three families in the state.
Although the case only addresses Tennessee’s law specifically, a Supreme Court ruling could set a nationwide precedent that would apply to state laws around the country that prohibit gender transition surgeries and drugs for children. More than 20 states restrict or prohibit doctors from performing such surgeries or providing such drugs for patients under the age of 18.
The court scheduled oral arguments for the case to be heard in December — less than two years after Gov. Bill Lee signed the prohibition into law.
State law prohibits doctors from performing surgery on a minor’s genitals that are intended to make them resemble the genitals of the opposite sex. It also prohibits chest surgeries and other aesthetic surgeries intended to make the child appear more similar to the opposite sex.
The law further prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers, which delay
