The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments from Alliance Defending Freedom on December 4, 2024, in United States of America v. Skrmetti, a challenging Tennessee’s law protecting minors from gender transition procedures. The case, which could impact similar laws in 25 other states, centers on Tennessee’s ability to regulate medical practices and protect children from what the state describes as potentially harmful medical procedures.
What is Alliance Defending Freedom?
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, marriage and family, and the sanctity of life.
Alliance Defending Freedom Church & Ministry Alliance, operated by Alliance Defending Freedom, is a specialized legal service that supports religious organizations. This dedicated division helps protect religious institutions’ fundamental freedoms, ensuring they can practice and express their faith.
At the heart of the legislation is Tennessee’s law SB1, which prohibits healthcare providers from performing certain medical procedures and prescribing certain drugs to minors experiencing discomfort with their biological sex. The law’s supporters emphasize that it focuses on regulating specific medical uses rather than classifying people based on status – similar to how different uses of medications like morphine are regulated differently based on their intended purpose.
In an interview on CNN, Alliance Defending Freedom President Kristen Waggoner said, “The evidence-based medicine would suggest we shouldn’t constitutionalize the right to experiment on our kids, and this right now is an experiment. And so far, what we see is that it brings long-term and irreversible harm to them.”
Tennessee’s position is bolstered by recent policy shifts in several European countries. Finland has declared gender reassignment of minors an “experimental practice,” while England’s National Health Service (NHS) has concluded that evidence supporting these procedures is “very low quality,” leading to restrictions on puberty blockers in England, Wales, and Scotland.
The case has broader implications beyond Tennessee, as it could affect similar laws in other states. Currently, 25 states have enacted comparable legislation protecting minors from these medical procedures. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has been involved in defending similar laws in other states, serving as co-counsel with state attorneys general in cases such as Boe v. Marshall in Alabama and Labrador v. Poe in Idaho.
In a statement on Alliance Defending Freedom Media, ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch said, “Tennessee is right to regulate medicine consistent with biological reality and protect children from harmful, experimental, and often irreversible medical procedures.
“Relying on bad science, activists and the Biden-Harris administration have pushed these harmful medical procedures across the country and even taken steps to prevent state legislatures from regulating these procedures. These procedures have devastated countless lives, which is why countries that were previously leaders in so-called ‘gender affirming’ care are reversing course and curtailing these experimental efforts to permanently alter children’s bodies. We urge the Supreme Court to affirm the lower court’s ruling that Tennessee is free to implement laws that follow the best science available in protecting vulnerable children from high-risk medical procedures,” Bursch added.
The Supreme Court’s decision in this case will likely have far-reaching implications for healthcare regulation and child protection policies across the United States.
