Federal Appeals Court Upholds Tennessee Law Banning Radical Gender Procedures on Children

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an injunction on a Tennessee law protecting children from irreversible gender surgeries and hormone procedures.

The panel of three judges voted 2-1 on Saturday to stay the injunction blocking a bill that bans radical gender procedures from going into effect on July 1, making it effective immediately.

“Because Tennessee is likely to succeed on its appeal of the preliminary injunction, we grant the stay,” Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote for the appeals court.

Senate Bill 1, signed by Gov. Bill Lee in March, prohibited health care providers “from performing on a minor or administering to a minor a medical procedure if the performance or administration of the procedure is for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex.”

A district court had issued a preliminary injunction against the bill just days before it was set to go into effect, arguing it likely violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti in a statement on Saturday called the ruling a “big win,” but cautioned the case is “far from over.”

“The court of appeals lifted the injunction, meaning the law can be fully enforced, and recognized that Tennessee is likely to win the constitutional argument and the case,” Skrmetti said.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti issued this statement after the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals granted Tennessee’s emergency motion for a stay of the preliminary injunction in L.W. v. Skrmetti. pic.twitter.com/MFNrGrQ9Zv

— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) July 8, 2023

The American Civil Liberies Union (ACLU) however, blasted the ruling as “beyond disappointing.”

“This ruling is beyond disappointing and a heartbreaking development for thousands of transgender youth, their doctors, and their families. As we and our clients consider our next steps, we want all the transgender youth of Tennessee to know this fight is far from over and we will continue to challenge this law until it is permanently defeated and Tennessee is made a safer place to raise every family.”

The court ruled the appeal to resolve the injunction will be expedited to no later than September 30, 2023.

Read the ruling: