Following SCOTUS Ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti, Attorney General Bonta Reaffirms California’s Commitment to Protecting Access to Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ judgment in U.S. v. Skrmetti, upholding Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1, which bans critical, lifesaving gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents suffering from gender dysphoria. In September 2024, Attorney General Bonta filed an amicus brief urging the Court to reverse the judgment, arguing that a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex and transgender status and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Court held that Tennessee’s law does not discriminate on the basis of sex or transgender status, but rather differentiates based on age (barring care for minors but not adults) and medical treatment (barring treatment for certain conditions but not others). In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor criticized that logic and reasoned that the majority “retreat[ed] from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most.” 

“All Americans regardless of their gender identity have the inalienable right to equal protection under the law. This includes the right to access healthcare free from discrimination,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Across the nation, we’ve seen a rise in hate-fueled violence and intimidation against our LGBTQ+ community, and laws such as Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1 only serve to exacerbate these conditions by blatantly discriminating against transgender youth and denying them access to critical life-saving care. In California, we will continue to promote and protect access to healthcare, not restrict it. My office and I remain committed to safeguarding and upholding the healthcare rights and freedoms for all individuals, including our transgender youth.”

A copy of the decision can be found here.