CBS EVENING NEWS
6/18/25
6:44 PM
MAURICE DuBOIS: In a major decision today, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
JOHN DICKERSON: The ruling was 6-3, with the six conservative justices in the majority. Jan Crawford is with us this evening. Jan, what did the majority say?
JAN CRAWFORD: Well, John, first of all, this case came about when Tennessee, like dozens of other states, passed a law banning the use of puberty blockers, hormones, surgeries, for children who may want to change their biological sex. A group of parents and children, the ACLU, and the Biden Administration sued. They said these laws are unconstitutional, but in that 6-3 ruling written by the Chief Justice, the Court said that people who identify as transgender who are minors, they don't have a constitutional right to access those kinds of treatments. And furthermore, where there is this kind of growing international medical and scientific uncertainty on the long-term health impacts are still kind of unclear, that those kind of policy decisions are best left to the states, not federal courts. So what does all of this mean? It means that Tennessee's law, like those in 26 other states, now can be enforced, and if you are a parent in those states and you want your child to have access to that kind of treatment, you are going to have to go to a state that will allow it.
DuBOIS: Jan, what might be the impact beyond this one particular case here?
CRAWFORD: Well, Maurice, I mean this one obviously focused on that medical transition treatment for children, but yeah, I mean, I think the Court in some of the opinions -- and there were many opinions -- is clearly signaling this will have an impact beyond this case.
DuBOIS: All right. Jan Crawford tonight. Thank you so much.
