Tennessee lawmakers defend youth transgender healthcare ban after Supreme Court hearing
From left: Sen. Adam Lowe, District 1; Rep. Greg Martin, District 26; Sen. Bo Watson, District 11; Sen. Jack Johnson, District 27; Rep. Greg Vital, District 29; Rep. Michele Reneau, District 27; and Hamilton County Commissioner Chairman Jeff Eversole, District 10 gather for a group photo at Collegedale City Hall after discussing Senate Bill 1. (Courtesy: Sen. Bo Watson)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Local Tennessee Republican lawmakers discussed last week’s Supreme Court hearing on House Bill 1 Monday morning.
That bill bans gender affirming healthcare for minors under the age of 18.
House Bill 1 was passed in 2023, and is currently in effect in Tennessee.
That bill however has been challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice and the ACLU, and the Supreme Court heard their case.
Tennessee Republicans however feel their chances of upholding the law are high.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson said, “This past Wednesday was truly an historic day not only for the state of Tennessee but the entire country.”
Lawmakers say that the challenge to House Bill 1 comes down to two key questions.
Senator Bo Watson of District 11 said, “One is the prohibition of medical practices for transitioning care for minors, and two, about the authority of the state of Tennessee to regulate medicine.”
They reiterate the purpose of the bill is to protect children from what they see as irreversible harm.
They say children should not be pressured into making life altering decisions while they are still developing their identities.
Senator Adam Lowe of District 1 said, “At the core of this legislation is the legislature saying that children need time, they need time, to work through work through what Erickson would have said is identity and identity confusion that happens in teenage and adult years.”
Lawyers for the ACLU argued to the Supreme Court that access to this care is as necessary as any other medical procedure.
One of those lawyers, Chase Strangio, said, “I am honored Transgender adolescents and their parents who spent years thinking about how to best take care of their suffering children, made decisions that were best for their families with the recommendations of their doctors only to have those decisions overridden and displaced by the government of Tennessee.”
However, lawmakers argue this issue won’t be solved through gender affirming care.
Sen. Watson said, “We’re trying to put in place some of the infrastructure needed to help those folks, particularly minors, deal with some of the challenges they are facing, and we would say to those families try to take advantage of some of those psychiatric and psychological care we are trying to provide.”
We will likely not hear the decision from the Supreme Court whether to uphold or strike down Tennessee’s law until next summer.
