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'Losing their health': Detransitioner sounds alarm about sex-change surgeries negatively impacting children

As the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the high-profile transgender case this past week, a prominent detransitioner and public speaker emphasized the importance of the case and said it could change everything about the gender ideology they fight in the United States.  

U.S. v. Skrmetti revolves around a Tennessee law that bans sex-change treatments and surgeries for children. Experts believe the Supreme Court’s decision in the case could set a precedent that will shape laws about transgender treatments for children across the country.

"It's incredibly important that this law goes through so that other states, not just Tennessee, who have these protective laws, can uphold them in courts and maybe states that are more on the fence, like blue states or purple states, can have pressure put on them to put in these laws to protect children in their area as well," Chloe Cole told Fox News Digital in the frigid cold outside the Supreme Court building

"This is an identity crisis that is plaguing my generation right now," she continued. "Children are losing their health, they’re losing their ability to grow up into adults, are losing their ability to have children when they become adults. It’s unconscionable."  

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Cole, who is 20 years old and began transitioning from a female into a male at the age of 12 and stopped at 17, said that she continues to suffer daily pain and faces serious health issues from the long-term effects of the sex-change treatments and surgery she received as a child.

"I've been on the puberty blockers, the testosterone injections, and I've had a double mastectomy, and all three of these treatments have irreversibly and permanently affected my health," she said.

"I basically went through an artificial menopause while I was young," Cole explained. "So, I was experiencing hot flashes and these other uncomfortable, painful symptoms that are not too dissimilar to what women naturally experience when they're in their 40s, 50s, 60s, not before they're even teenagers."

Some activists, including attorneys arguing against Tennessee’s law, posit that sex-change treatments help children suffering from gender confusion, improving their mental health and preventing suicide. However, many former transgender individuals – often called "detransitioners" – dispute the claim that sex-change treatments solve mental health issues. Instead, they say that in addition to causing physical problems, treatments can also lead to serious psychological damage.

Besides having to live with the reality of having both her breasts cut off at the age of 15, Cole said that testosterone has also "made it so that I have permanent changes to my bone structure."

"I have a left-over Adam's apple and facial hair growth, but I also have issues with my urinary tract, with pelvic pain [and] with things like sexual function, which, now, as an adult woman, that is something that has been both physically and psychologically incredibly painful," she explained.

"I’m a woman," she went on. "I aspire to become a mother one day, I want to get married, and this is something that is going to undoubtedly affect my marriage, my romantic life, and potentially my ability to have children."

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Although gender transition treatment is promoted by doctors and hospital systems across the country, Cole said that there are still many unanswered questions about the long-term effects of these treatments.

"I don't know what the lasting effects are on my fertility. There are so many unknowns about my health, I have no idea what the future of my health is going to look like," she said. "It's been years after the fact, and I'm still experiencing reeling effects from all of this when I could have just grown up into a healthy young woman with a body intact."

Although she continues to suffer the aftereffects of the treatments, Cole said she is resolved to stop more children from suffering what she underwent.  

"This is not what children deserve," she concluded. "Children deserve to be allowed to grow up with their bodies fully intact, they deserve a chance to learn how to love themselves the way that they are, the way they were born, the way that God beautifully crafted them in their mother's womb."

'The pendulum is swinging': Experts weigh in on historic SCOTUS transgender case amid oral arguments

The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) began hearing oral arguments for the high-profile case involving Tennessee's ban on transgender medical procedures for minors on Wednesday, and one expert is saying the historic case shows "the pendulum is swinging." 

The case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, will decide whether Tennessee's ban on transgender medical procedures is constitutional and could impact whether states will enact more bans and allow individuals to sue medical providers. 

"I think you're finding more of these people willing and certainly wanting to sue the pharmaceutical companies, as well as the doctors who prescribe medication or did the surgery," Mat Staver, chairman of nonprofit legal group Liberty Counsel, told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

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"So I think that the pendulum is swinging," said Staver, whose legal group filed an amicus brief in support of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. "So even no matter what the Supreme Court does, I think the lawsuits will ultimately be the death mill of this kind of intervention."

As oral arguments commenced Wednesday morning, supporters and opponents of gender transition treatments gathered outside the SCOTUS building holding transgender Pride flags and "Kids' Health Matters." Over the course of more than two hours, the justices listened to each side present their arguments and asked questions.

The court's ruling could affect other current legal fights over transgender rights, including bathroom access and participation in scholastic sports. It could also serve as a legal template for future disputes involving the LGBTQ community and whether sexual orientation is a "protected class" that deserves the same rights that involve a person's race and national origin.

Staver said appellate courts have consistently upheld state bans on gender-affirming care for minors, though some lower court rulings have been overturned on appeal. He predicts the Supreme Court will likely follow this trend, framing the issue as one of regulating medical procedures rather than a question of constitutional protection. 

"I think it's really a question of whether or not this rises to a level of constitutional protection, which I don't think it does," Staver said.

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The Biden administration joined the lawsuit by filing a petition to the Supreme Court in November 2023. The Department of Justice argued that the Tennessee law, which limits access to puberty blockers and hormone therapies for transgender minors, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This clause requires equal treatment of individuals in similar circumstances under the law.

"It is no surprise to my mind that this is something I believe the Biden administration would love to hang its hat on as a victory for so-called transgender rights," Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow Sarah Perry told Fox News Digital. 

The administration's petition emphasized the "urgent need" for Supreme Court review, citing the impact on families who risk losing essential medical care. The DOJ also highlighted the broader implications of similar laws in other states, arguing that the bans disproportionately target transgender youth while permitting similar treatment for non-transgender minors.

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"But I will say this is going to present a very interesting potential, about FACE [The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act] with the incoming Trump administration, they have made very clear during the campaign that they want to restrict these procedures for minors," Perry said.

"So the Department of Justice under President Trump has an opportunity to reverse course, to file a motion to dismiss, voluntarily dismiss the case, and then it presents an interesting question: what do the justices do?" she added.

The case comes as transgender issues have become a hotly debated topic in the country's culture wars. Several large medical groups, including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, all endorse transgender medical procedures for children. 

Meanwhile, more than 26 states have either restricted or passed laws banning them.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti told reporters after the arguments, "The Constitution allows the states to protect kids from unproven, life-altering procedures based on uncertain science."

A ruling is expected by July 2025.

Fox News' Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report.

Supreme Court appears divided over state bans on gender transition 'treatments' for minors

The Supreme Court appeared divided Wednesday over the constitutionality of state laws banning gender transition medical "treatments" for minors, a politically charged issue dealing with transgender rights. The justices heard nearly two-and-a-half hours of tense oral arguments over a challenge to a Tennessee law.

At issue is whether the equal protection clause — which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same — prohibits states from allowing medical providers to deliver puberty blockers and hormones to facilitate a minor's transition to another sex.

Hundreds of people on both sides of the issue rallied in front of the court. Some demonstrators held signs saying, "Kids' Health Matters," while others promoted "Freedom To Be: A Celebration of Transgender Youth & Families."

The court's ruling could affect other current legal fights over transgender rights, including bathroom access and participation in scholastic sports. It could also serve as a legal template to future disputes involving the LGBTQ+ community, and whether sexual orientation is a "protected class" that deserves the same rights that involve a person's race and national origin.

The three justices appointed by former President Trump could be the key to deciding the socially divisive question. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett asked tough questions of both sides, and Justice Neil Gorsuch did not speak during the marathon public session.

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Justice Samuel Alito cited "hotly disputed" medical studies on the supposed benefits of such medical treatments. Instead he referred to other research from Great Britain and Sweden that reported on the negative consequences from teens that underwent gender transition treatments.

Those studies "found a complete lack of high-quality evidence showing that the benefits of the treatments in question here outweigh the risks," he told the federal government's attorney. "Do you dispute that?"

But Justice Sonia Sotomayor countered with evidence from underage individuals that were denied treatment.

"Some children suffer incredibly with gender dysphoria, don't they? I think some attempt suicide?" she said. "The state has come in here and, in a sharp departure from how it normally addresses this issue, it has completely decided to override the views of the parents, the patients, the doctors who are grappling with these decisions and trying to make those trade-offs."

Justice Brett Kavanaugh summed up the competing interests facing the high court.

"How do we as a Court choose which set of risks is more serious in deciding whether to constitutionalize this whole area?"

Chief Justice John Roberts voted in the majority in a 2020 case favoring transgender employees who claim workplace discrimination. That opinion was authored by Gorsuch. But in Wednesday's arguments, Roberts suggested state legislatures – rather than courts – were in a better position to decide such questions over regulating medical procedures.

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"The Constitution leaves that question to the people's representatives, rather than to nine people, none of whom is a doctor," Roberts told ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio, who was representing transgender minors, parents and a doctor. Strangio is the first openly transgender attorney to argue a case before the Supreme Court.

He appeared alongside the U.S. solicitor general, representing the Biden administration in opposing the law in Tennessee, one of about two dozen with similar bans. 

Prelogar said the state laws have the effect of "sex discrimination," since the minor's gender is key when determining specific medical treatments for those seeking to transition.

She cited the benefits of such "medically necessary care" that can have the effect of preventing "escalating distress, anxiety, and suicidality." The Justice Department mentioned the experience of Ryan, one of the plaintiffs, who told the courts such treatment "saved his life."

The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychiatric Association have all endorsed such medical treatments for youths.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti told reporters after the arguments, "The Constitution allows the states to protect kids from unproven, life-altering procedures based on uncertain science."

The state's lawyer told the justices its law — known as SB1 — "draws a line between minors seeking drugs for gender transition and minors seeking drugs for other medical purposes," like a congenital defect or precocious or early onset puberty.

In arguments, much of the discussion was whether the laws were applied equally to boys and girls, and whether states had a greater interest in regulating treatment, since it involved underage individuals.

"It's really for minors," said Justice Clarence Thomas. "So why isn't this simply a case of age classification when it comes to these treatments as opposed to a [outright] ban?" for everyone.

But the three more liberal justices were skeptical of the state's positions.

"It's a dodge to say that this is not based on sex, it's based on medical purpose, when the medical purpose is utterly and entirely about sex," said Justice Elena Kagan.

She added the state law seems to me sending a message that "there's something fundamentally wrong, fundamentally bad, about youth who are trying to transition."

"One of the articulated purposes of this law is essentially to encourage gender conformity and to discourage anything other than gender conformity," said Kagan. It "sounds to me like: we want boys to be boys and we want girls to be girls."

Trump, who takes office again next month as president, had promised in his re-election campaign to implement certain policy changes that would affect transgender individuals across various sectors.

A ruling is expected by late June 2025.

The case is U.S. v. Skrmetti (23-477). 

Sotomayor compares trans medical 'treatments' to aspirin in question about side effects during oral arguments

Justice Sonia Sotomayor likened the side effects of transgender medical procedures on minors to that of taking an over-the-counter painkiller during Wednesday's oral arguments in the U.S. v. Skrmetti case.

"Every medical treatment has a risk, even taking aspirin," Sotomayor said. "There's always going to be a percentage of the population under any medical treatment that's going to suffer a harm. So, the question in my mind is not, 'do policymakers decide whether one person's life is more valuable than the millions of others who get relief from this treatment?'"

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Sotomayor's comments came after Tennessee Solicitor General Matthew Rice defended his state’s ban on transgender medical procedures for minors, which is the first time a case involving transgender procedures has been brought before the high court. Rice argued that countries like Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdom have limited such interventions due to reported irreversible consequences.

Justice Clarence Thomas questioned Rice about alternative approaches – like in the case of West Virginia – with Rice dismissing them as speculative policymaking that fails to eliminate risks associated with gender transition entirely.

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"They cannot eliminate the risk of detransitioners," Rice said. "So, it becomes a pure exercise of weighing benefit versus risk. And the question of how many minors have to have their bodies irreparably harmed for unproven benefits is one that is best left to the legislature."

The high-profile case, United States v. Skrmetti, centers on a Tennessee law that bans gender-transition treatments for adolescents in the state. The law also takes aim at health care providers in Tennessee who continue to provide gender-transition treatments to transgender minors, opening them up to fines, lawsuits and other liability.  

The three justices appointed by former President Trump could play a key role in the outcome. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett pressed both sides with tough questions, while Justice Neil Gorsuch remained silent throughout the lengthy hearing. A ruling is expected by July 2025.

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The petitioners in the case are the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which sued to overturn the Tennessee law on behalf of parents of three transgender adolescents, and a Memphis-based doctor who treats transgender patients. The petitioners were also joined by the Biden administration earlier this year under a federal law that allows the administration to intervene in certain cases certified by the attorney general to be of "general public importance." 

Tennessee passed its law, Senate Bill 1, in March 2023. But it is just one of at least 25 U.S. states that has banned gender transitions for transgender minors, while more than 15 have enacted "shield" laws that protect such procedures. 

Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.

Supreme Court appears divided over state bans on gender transition 'treatments' for minors

The Supreme Court appeared divided Wednesday over the constitutionality of state laws banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, a politically charged issue dealing with transgender rights. The justices heard nearly two-and-a-half hours of tense oral arguments over a challenge to a Tennessee law.

At issue is whether the equal protection clause — which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same — prohibits states from allowing medical providers to deliver puberty blockers and hormones to facilitate a minor's transition to another sex.

The three justices appointed by former President Trump could be the key to deciding the socially divisive question. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett asked tough questions of both sides, and Justice Neil Gorsuch did not speak during the marathon public session.

Justice Samuel Alito cited "overwhelming evidence" from some medical studies that cited the negative consequences from teens that underwent gender-affirming care. But Justice Sonia Sotomayor countered with evidence from underage individuals that were denied treatment to address gender dysphoria.

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Chief Justice John Roberts voted in the majority in a 2020 case favoring transgender employees who claim workplace discrimination. That opinion was authored by Gorsuch. But in Wednesday's arguments, Roberts suggested state legislatures – rather than courts – were in a better position to decide such questions over regulating medical procedures.

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"The Constitution leaves that question to the people's representatives, rather than to nine people, none of whom is a doctor," Roberts told ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio, who was representing transgender minors, parents and a doctor. Strangio is the first openly transgender attorney to argue a case before the Supreme Court.

He appeared alongside the U.S. solicitor general, representing the Biden administration in opposing the law in Tennessee, one of about two dozen with similar bans. Trump, who takes office again next month as president, had promised in his re-election campaign to implement certain policy changes that would affect transgender individuals across various sectors.

A ruling is expected by late June 2025.

The case is U.S. v. Skrmetti (23-477). 

Supreme Court to weigh state ban on transgender 'medical treatments' for minors

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a high-profile case involving the right of transgender minors to receive gender transition care, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, in one of the most closely watched, potentially impactful cases slated to come before the high court this year.

The case, United States v. Skrmetti, centers on a Tennessee law that bans gender-transition treatments for adolescents in the state. The law also takes aim at health care providers in Tennessee who continue to provide gender-transition treatments to transgender minors, opening them up to fines, lawsuits and other liability.  

The petitioners in the case are the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which sued to overturn the Tennessee law on behalf of parents of three transgender adolescents, and a Memphis-based doctor who treats transgender patients. The petitioners were also joined by the Biden administration earlier this year under a federal law that allows the administration to intervene in certain cases certified by the attorney general to be of "general public importance." 

The petitioners argue the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The state has responded by insisting the law does not discriminate based on gender, arguing it sets parameters on age- and use-based restrictions on certain drugs and is therefore not a violation of the Constitution.

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According to the U.S. Supreme Court website, the key question posed in the case is "whether Tennessee Senate Bill 1 (SBl), which prohibits all medical treatments intended to allow 'a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex' or to treat 'purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's sex and asserted identity,' Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-33-103(a)(1), violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."

Wednesday's oral arguments mark the first time the Supreme Court will consider restrictions on puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery for minors, giving the case importance in Tennessee and in other states across the country. 

Tennessee passed its law, Senate Bill 1, in March 2023. But it is just one of at least 25 U.S. states that has banned gender transition care for transgender adolescents, making the case — and Wednesday's oral arguments — one of the most high-profile cases to be heard this session.  

The oral arguments have been anticipated for months. The controversial case comes at a time in Washington when Republicans will regain control of the White House and both chambers of Congress next month, giving them heavy influence and, some fear, more control over the federal judiciary. 

Here's what you need to know ahead of Wednesday's oral arguments.

Who's arguing the case?

The petitioners will be represented by U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar and Chase Strangio, an ACLU attorney who represented the original parties in the lawsuit.

Strangio, the deputy director for transgender justice for the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project, will be the first openly transgender person to argue before the Supreme Court.

The respondents in the case, namely the state of Tennessee, will be represented in court by Tennessee Solicitor General J. Matthew Rice and the state attorney general, Jonathan Skrmetti. 

In a court filing submitted ahead of Wednesday's oral arguments, Prelogar's office argued the Tennessee law has a deliberate focus on "sex and gender conformity," asserting Senate Bill 1 "declares that its very purpose is to ‘encourag[e] minors to appreciate their sex' and to ban treatments ‘that might encourage minors to become disdainful of their sex.'"

"That," the federal government wrote, "is sex discrimination."

Counsel for the petitioners will argue that the Tennessee law imposes "differential treatment based on the sex an individual is assigned at birth," triggering a higher level of scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

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They will also argue that upholding the ban will represent a "dangerous and discriminatory affront" to transgender minors not just in Tennessee, but across the country, a point that has been emphasized by Strangio.

The state argued in a court filing that the law "contains no sex classification" warranting the heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause. Rather, it said, it "creates two groups: minors seeking drugs for gender transition and minors seeking drugs for other medical purposes."

The question of scrutiny 

The Supreme Court has determined three different levels of scrutiny that help determine whether a law is permissible under the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution: Strict scrutiny, heightened scrutiny and rational basis. The highest level, strict scrutiny, requires a law be passed to serve a compelling government interest and be narrowly tailored to minimize harm. 

The second level of scrutiny, or "heightened scrutiny," requires the governmental body to prove its actions further an "important government interest" by using means "substantially related to that interest." 

The lowest bar, rational basis, is the most deferential of the tests and requires the law only serve a legitimate interest with a "rational connection" to the means and goals of the statute.

Overview of the arguments

Wednesday's oral arguments will center on whether banning gender transition care for minors violates protections under the Equal Protection Clause, either via gender discrimination or discrimination against their transgender status.

The petitioners in the case will argue that the Tennessee law discriminates against individuals and their right to receive the same medical treatments based on their sex. Under the law, the petitioners argued in their court filing, "an adolescent assigned female at birth cannot receive puberty blockers or testosterone to live as a male, but an adolescent assigned male at birth can."

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Separately, they will argue that discriminating against individuals based on their transgender status is also sufficient to trigger higher scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause, noting that transgender individuals "satisfy all of the hallmarks of a quasi-suspect class," including being subject to discrimination, representing a "discrete and identifiable minority" and other components outlined by the Supreme Court, thereby necessitating that heightened scrutiny be applied.

The respondents will argue that Senate Bill 1, places age- and use-based restrictions on certain drugs and, therefore, is not an example of unconstitutional discrimination. 

Further, they will argue that the law easily passes even the test of heightened scrutiny. The state contends it has "compelling interests" to protect the health and safety of minors in the state and "in protecting the integrity and ethics of the medical profession."

Case history

U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson, a Trump appointee, granted a preliminary inunction for part of the Tennessee ban in June, siding with the petitioners' assertion that "parents have a fundamental right to direct the medical care of their children, which naturally includes the right of parent[s] to request certain medical treatments on behalf of their children[.]"

He said the ban on most types of gender care for transgender minors would likely not survive the heightened scrutiny test under the Equal Protection Clause, since the same treatments were not banned for their non-transgender peers. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit later overturned the district court's decision and reinstated the full ban, using the lowest test of rational basis. The petitioners appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which agreed in June to review the case.

The petitioners have asked the Supreme Court to remand the case to the 6th Circuit Court to hear it again, this time using the test of heightened scrutiny.

Strangio has repeatedly stressed the wide-ranging impact the Supreme Court decision could have on "countless transgender youth" of current and future generations and has described the bans as a "dangerous and discriminatory affront to the well-being of transgender youth across the country."

Next steps

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on United States v. Skrmetti by July 2025. The Supreme Court typically issues summer decisions on cases argued during the October term.

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