On Dec. 4, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on whether Tennessee Senate Bill 1, which protects Tennessee minors from puberty-blocking medication, hormone therapy and surgeries, will be allowed to stand.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1 into law in March 2023. The state stands with over 20 other states that prohibit health care providers from performing transgender procedures on minors.
The law cites the health risks and harmful effects the procedures can cause on children, including “becoming irreversibly sterile, having increased risk of disease and illness, or suffering from adverse and sometimes fatal psychological consequences.” The bill also emphasizes that the “legislature finds it likely that not all harmful effects are yet fully known, as many of these procedures, when performed on a minor for such purposes, are experimental in nature and not supported by high-quality, long-term medical studies.”
In April 2023, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP filed a lawsuit against Tennessee, arguing the bill violates the Equal Protection Clause, which led to the United States v. Skrmetti case heard on Wednesday.
Todd Chasteen, vice president of public policy and general counsel for Samaritan’s Purse, attended portions of the hearing. He believes the case’s importance spreads beyond Tennessee.
“This case is particularly significant because approximately 25 other states have courageously stood in the gap and passed laws to stop the destruction and harm of youth who are wrestling with gender dysphoria based on the science and the growing knowledge of the fallacy of ‘gender-affirming care,’” Chasteen told Decision. “The case is also incredibly weighty because if the court creates some elevated constitutional protected status for gender identity, this will impact women’s sports, private spaces, shelters and prisons.”
Christians across the U.S. called for nationwide prayer for the case and hearing, including Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. The morning of the hearing, Perkins posted on X a call to pray for the lawyers, justices and Supreme Court “to uphold the truth and protect vulnerable children.” Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal advocacy organization, issued a signup on their website to pray for the court’s decision, after the hearing.
Chasteen recognizes the need for Christians to pray.
“The spiritual element of this battle is remarkably clear,” Chasteen said. “Justices attacking the protective Tennessee law had no reverence for humans being made in the image of God, male and female, while also ignoring biological reality. When a United States Supreme Court justice is unable to define what a woman is, zealously believes destroying healthy bodies is a good and normal path to address psychological disorders, is willing to look away from the facts to bow to an ideology, you begin to clearly see a worldview of trying to make God in our own image, replacing His truth with our latest fashionable idea.”
Sources report a likelihood of the bill being upheld, as Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh appear to stand in favor of Tennessee’s ban. Skrmetti also remains hopeful.
“I spoke with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti after the case,” Chasteen said, “and he and his team were thankful for the opportunity to defend the safety of children and teens, were passionate about doing the right thing, and after hearing the arguments were hopeful in their heroic efforts to stand for youth and hold the medical profession accountable for harm resulting in wrecked lives from irreversible treatments.”
