WASHINGTON (CN) - Transgender teens lost the first big Supreme Court battle on gender-affirming healthcare on Wednesday, finding that Tennessee's ban on hormone blockers for minors was not subject to heightened scrutiny.

The Tennessee Legislature adopted Senate Bill 1 in 2023, prohibiting health care providers from prescribing, administering or dispensing any puberty blocker or hormone aimed at helping a minor identify with a gender that is inconsistent with the minor's sex. 

Three transgender minors, their families and a Memphis-based doctor claim that the ban is unconstitutional. The Biden administration intervened in their suit, viewing the case as a matter of public importance. 

The Sixth Circuit reversed a lower court's finding that Tennessee's law was unconstitutional after applying a rational basis review, prompting the Biden administration to say a higher level of scrutiny was necessary. 

When the Trump administration took over, however, the federal government notified the justices that its position had changed. Under Trump, the Justice Department said it wouldn't have intervened in the suit, stating that Tennessee's law was lawful. 

President Donald Trump's return to office has resulted in numerous attacks on transgender rights. 

Trump issued executive orders rejecting the idea that people can transition to a gender that differs from their sex assigned at birth, banning transgender service members from the military and prohibiting federal funding of gender-affirming health care. 

Major American medical associations say gender-affirming care is evidence-based and medically necessary for children suffering from gender dysphoria. 

Source: Courthouse News Service