Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth can go into effect — at least for now — after a federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily reversed a lower court ruling. Last month, a district court judge in Tennessee found that the state’s new law banning transgender therapies like hormone blockers and surgeries for transgender youth was unconstitutional because it discriminated based on sex. The judge blocked large swaths of the law from taking effect. On Saturday, however, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati granted an emergency appeal from Tennessee. In a 2-1 ruling, the majority wrote that decisions on emerging policy issues like transgender care are generally better left to legislatures rather than judges. Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote, “Given the high stakes of these nascent policy deliberations — the long-term health of children facing gender dysphoria — sound government usually benefits from more rather than less debate.” The ruling is preliminary and remains in force only until the appeals court conducts a full review of the appeal. Sutton wrote that the appeal process will be expedited, with the goal of resolving the case by September 30. The ACLU, its Tennessee chapter, and two law firms called Saturday’s ruling beyond disappointing and a heartbreaking development.
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