The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming surgery for transgender youth in a ruling that’s likely to reverberate across the country. Most Republican-controlled states already have similar bans. Since President Donald Trump returned to office this year, the federal government has been trying to restrict access.

Hundreds of trans people, activists and supporters rally outside of the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, DC on December 04, 2024. Supreme Court of the United States hears the United States versus Skrmetti case.

The justices ruled that Tennessee’s law, which prohibited some medical treatments for transgender youths, did not violate equal protection principles.