Supreme Court decision in TN case could impact challenge to KS gender-affirming care law

TOPEKA (KSNT) — A recent Supreme Court decision impacting gender-affirming care for transgender minors could impact a lawsuit trying to put a Kansas law on hold.

A Kansas law went into effect this year, banning doctors from providing gender-affirming care, like puberty blockers and hormone therapy to anyone under 18. Supporters of the ban argue it’s a way to protect kids from making life-altering decisions too soon, but opponents say the law targets transgender youth, and could have devastating impacts on their mental health.

Last month, a coalition of LGBTQ advocacy groups, including the ACLU, and families filed a lawsuit, hoping to stop the Kansas law from being enforced.

“Sort of like a slap in the face and does seem to reaffirm to a number of kids like, oh, the government doesn’t care about me,” Trans Lawrence Coalition member Isaac Johnson said. “When do we draw the line and say, yes, this is actually discrimination? Yes, this is actually, bad we shouldn’t be doing this.”

This week, the Supreme Court ruled that Tennessee’s nearly identical law could stand, handing a major win to states passing similar bans.

Kansas attorney general Kris Kobach pointed to that ruling as a sign that the Kansas law is legally sound, and the Supreme Court’s opinion could help him argue that.

“Gives him another avenue for arguing that the state law is acceptable. It’s not a violation of anybody’s due process rights,” Associated Press reporter John Hanna said. “The ACLU has told me it’s not going to affect their case at all. They’re arguing under the state constitution.”

The lawsuit argues that banning care based on gender identity violates the state’s equal protection clause, and that parents, not the state, should decide medical treatment for their children.

“With that precedent being set, it would be very easy then for the lawsuit to make it to a court and a judge to say, well, the supreme court already said x, y, and z,” Johnson said. “However, with that said, the supreme court also is leaving it up to the states.”

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