WASHINGTON – Today, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Kelley Robinson reacted to the Supreme Court’s decision to grant certiorari review for a challenge to a law banning gender-affirming care for youth in Tennessee. This is the first time the Supreme Court will hear a case on access to healthcare for transgender people.

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson released the following statement:

“It’s simple—everyone deserves access to the medical care that they need, and transgender and non-binary young people are no exception. No politician should be able to interfere in decisions that are best made between families and doctors, particularly when that care is necessary and best practice,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson. “These dangerous bans have forced families to make heartbreaking decisions to support their children. The Supreme Court should restore access to care and block this ban. We will never stop fighting until every young person in every state can have the support they need to live freely.”

Last June, federal district courts issued injunctions blocking bans in Tennessee and Kentucky from going into effect in the two states, just a few months after the laws were enacted. The following September, the Sixth Circuit Court reversed the injunctions, ruling that Tennessee and Kentucky’s gender-affirming care bans for youth did not violate the Equal Protection clause or the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Now, the Supreme Court has decided to take up the Tennessee case, opening the door for the court to block these laws and restore access to care.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.