Supreme Court rules on medical treatment of transgender kids

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on the use of hormone therapy and puberty blockers for the treatment of transgender children. The case—United States v. Skrmetti—was brought before the court on the argument that the law was unconstitutional because it violated the rights of transgender youth to equal protection. 

As Adam B. Kushner described in the New York Times, “the case was a legal and political gamble” that “was rooted in uncertain science and contested ideas about sex and gender.” Yet, despite the risks, the groups advocating for the continued medical treatment of transgender kids believed support from the government (the case was originally contested under the Biden administration), public opinion, and recent rulings was enough to buoy their case. 

They were wrong, and the potential implications could stretch well beyond the state of Tennessee. 

Still, with a ruling this controversial, it’s important to distinguish between what’s been reported in the headlines—which largely described the decision as some form of a major setback for transgender rights—and what the Court actually said. To that end, let’s take a closer look at their decision:

• While the final 6–3 decision fell along ideological lines, the court did not take the matter lightly. As Chief Justice John Roberts noted, “This case carries with it the weight of fierce scientific and policy debates about the safety, efficacy, and propriety of medical treatments in an evolving field.”
• Roberts later added, “Our role is not ‘to judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic’ of the law before us, but only to ensure that it does not violate the equal protection guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment. Having concluded that it does not, we leave questions regarding its policy to the people, their elected representatives, and the democratic process.”
• By contrast, the three dissenting judges stated that the ruling “abandons transgender children and their families to political whims.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor went on to write that the decision “authorizes, without second thought, untold harm to transgender children and the parents and families who love them.”
• Despite such claims, it’s important to note that the court was fairly narrow in its ruling. States that decide children should be allowed to use puberty blockers and hormone therapies are still free to do so. It is only in states that have banned the practice that they are now confirmed to be illegal.

So, where does this fight go from here? And, as Christians, how should we respond? 

“An area of remarkably weak evidence”

While there is some thought that the Court’s ruling will be used as grounds to push for greater restrictions on transgender adults who want to receive these treatments as well, that seems unlikely. Most Americans tend to be far more willing to let adults live how they want while drawing a much tighter line when it comes to kids. And that is especially true when the science behind that push is far more suspect than trans advocates would like you to believe. 

In Nicholas Confessore’s article on the case and his extensive research into how the trans movement has shifted over the years, he makes the point that most of the reports used to support the benefits of transition treatments on kids were deeply flawed and fall well short of the standards used in most other fields of study. 

Countries like the Netherlands, Britain, and others that were on the front lines of that push a decade ago have since denounced the treatments as “an area of remarkably weak evidence.” And the lawyers who argued for the continuation of care before the Court were forced to admit as much during the trial. 

To make matters worse, many of those who continue to support hormone therapies, puberty blockers, and even surgery for minors know all of that and have worked hard to hide the evidence. 

A 2020 report commissioned by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and completed by Karen Robinson—an epidemiologist and evidence-based medicine expert at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine—was kept out of scientific journals by the very organization that paid for it. Robinson’s team found “little to no evidence” that children and adolescents were helped by the treatments but stated that WPATH tried “to restrict our ability to publish” the reports.

Moreover, Rachel Levine—the Assistant Secretary for Health at the time—pressured WPATH to adjust the report’s recommendations on the age at which children should receive treatment, arguing that placing limitations would “result in devastating legislation for trans care.” Many in the Biden White House were reportedly “blindsided” by the request, but continued to support treatment as a viable option. 

Unfortunately, that inability to let go of what they wanted to be true in order to accept what actually is true is hardly limited to the previous administration or the issue of transgenderism. 

Finding your blind spots

Winston Churchill once quipped about a political opponent that “Occasionally he stumbled over the truth but hastily picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened.” The same could be said of many in our culture today, Christians included.

And that shouldn’t really come as a surprise. After all, people have been struggling with the temptation to prioritize preferred beliefs over the truth since the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). 

It would be little more than hubris to think we have somehow outgrown or matured beyond that sin. If anything, the wealth of information at our disposal just makes it that much easier to find evidence to support any argument, regardless of how accurate that evidence is. However, recognizing that tendency in us is crucial if we want to follow Jesus well. 

In the Gospels, for example, many of the religious leaders with whom Christ often quarreled seem to have been genuinely convinced that standing against Jesus was the best way to serve the Lord. They denounced his teachings because what he said went against how they had come to understand Scripture. That the one interpreting and applying God’s word for them was the actual Word made flesh was simply outside the boundaries of what they were willing to consider (John 1:1–3). 

But while their mistake is plain for us to see, it’s often far more difficult to spot the lies we’ve chosen to believe in our own lives. 

On the issue of transgenderism, the Bible is clear that we should show compassion for those struggling with gender dysphoria but never compromise on the truth that God created two sexes and intends for us to live in accordance with that reality. As such, many of the treatments that attempt to use a physical solution to fix a largely mental problem are not only wrong but often ignore the deeper issues. We can stand with confidence on that assertion because we are standing on the truth of Scripture as our foundation. 

Although Scripture is not always so clear on many of the subjects debated within our culture today, starting with the Bible and prayerfully seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance will always be the best place to start and the only sure foundation we can find. God will often use common sense, experience, and a host of other factors to help us understand what’s true, but they should always be measured against what we find in his word. 

So, where are your blind spots today? Do you know in which subjects or arguments you are most prone to favoring what you wish were true over what actually is true? Conversely, are there any topics about which you are more certain than Scripture gives you reason to be? 

Take some time to ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern the real answers to those questions. Then commit to relying on God’s guidance to navigate those areas with the kind of confident humility that can only come from the Lord. 

Let’s start today. 

Quote of the day:

“It is easier to find a score of men wise enough to discover the truth than to find one intrepid enough, in the face of opposition, to stand up for it.” —A. A. Hodge

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