Last updated: June 18, 2025 You can find the Skrmetti decision here.
What just happened in the Skrmetti v. United States case?
On June 18, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for Trans minors. This Skrmetti decision means that Tennessee—and states with similar laws—can deny Trans youth access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy, even with parental consent and medical approval.
Does this affect Trans youth in Washington State?
No. Trans youth still have the right to gender-affirming care here in Washington State. Our state guarantees the right to affirming healthcare, privacy, and self-determination. We also have a “shield law” that protects medical and mental healthcare providers and staff who support Trans youth in accessing this care. This ruling does not change that.
Why did the Supreme Court make this decision?
The majority of the Court said Tennessee’s law didn’t violate the 5th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause because it treats all minors the same “regardless of sex”—a technical argument that ignores the lived realities of Trans youth. The Court rejected well-established precedent that discrimination based on Trans status or sex deserves heightened legal scrutiny. This decision specifically applies only to people under age 18 as the court found that Tennessee had the right to regulate healthcare for minors.
What makes Washington State safer than Tennessee?
Because of decades of collective community work together, Washington is one of the strongest pro-Trans states in the country. Together we’ve passed laws that:
- Protect access to gender-affirming care for both minors and adults (The Gender Affirming Treatment Act)
- Defend the privacy and safety of Trans students in schools (The Safety Act)
- Prevent out-of-state prosecutions from interfering with gender-affirming care received here (The Shield Law)
- Support youth who face threats in other states through refugee policies (Youth Shield Law)
- Protect your private medical data from being collected or sold without your knowledge (My Health, My Data)
You can find more specific information prepared by the Washington State Attorney General’s office know your rights in Washington State. Together we are building a model for what safety and freedom for Trans youth can look like—even when the federal courts fail us.
What can I do now?
- Join the Washington Families for Freedom campaign. Led by Gender Justice League, Pro Choice WA, ACLU of WA, and others, WFF is a campaign to defeat two anti-Trans youth ballot measures that will be on the ballot in Washington State in November 2026.
- Stay informed: We’ll continue to share updates as other states respond to this and other important decisions.
- Support each other. Reach out to Trans youth, families, and providers with love and solidarity. Support by-and-for Trans organizations providing direct support and advocacy such as Lavender Rights Project, UTOPIA Washington, Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network, Gender Justice League’s Community Security Program.
- Take action. You don’t need permission to organize, donate, volunteer, or speak out! If you have a passion and a project in mind, find some like-minded friends and make it happen. Moving the needle of public opinion takes all of us doing different projects, with different approaches, in different places!
Our rights are never given—they’re fought for and defended together.
This is not the first time our community has faced unjust laws or decisions—and it won’t be the last. Trans people and our allies have always fought back against government overreach—and won.
We stand on the shoulders of those who challenged so called “anti-cross dressing laws” and sodomy laws; we fought for and won marriage equality and gender-affirming care coverage; and we have demanded dignity in healthcare, workplaces, and schools. This is a setback—but it is not a defeat.
We are still here. We are still powerful. We are still free.
We keep fighting. We keep building. We don’t back down.