LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether a ban on gender transition treatment for transgender kids is constitutional, hearing oral arguments on Wednesday in the case centered around a lawsuit in Tennessee.
The high court's eventual ruling could have far-reaching implications for Kentucky and more than 20 other states with bans in place.
Reports indicate justices appear to be leaning toward upholding Tennessee's law. If the Supreme Court were to strike down Tennessee's ban, legal challenges to bans like Kentucky's could win out, leading to those laws being overturned.
Annika Gibson of Louisville told WHAS11 that lives are at stake.
"I've been lucky. I haven't lost anyone. But I know people who have, and it's just indescribable," Gibson said. "Hope for the best. Hope everything's going to be OK, but prepare for the worst because when our health care is on the line, we do die."
Treatments like hormone therapy and puberty blockers for transgender youth have been illegal in Kentucky for the better part of a year-and-a-half, since Senate Bill 150 went into effect in the spring of 2023.
At the time, Gibson, a transgender woman and trans rights advocate, was still a minor.
"Those two, three months without hormones were probably the hardest that I've experienced in a long time -- probably because I knew what I was missing," Gibson, a duPont Manual graduate, said.
Kentucky's ban on gender transition treatment for minors has faced a lengthy legal battle since then. Most recently, a federal appeals court allowed the law to stay in effect.
"If this case goes poorly, then there is the chance that it will open the door to further laws that will criminalize our care," Gibson said, predicting future legislation limiting access for adults.
Nick Spencer, director of policy for The Family Foundation of Kentucky based in Lexington, said this case is "all about protecting the innocence and the bodily integrity of children." The Family Foundation is a nonprofit advocating for conservative legislation.
"Preventing them from making a life-altering, irreversible decision when they're young," Spencer told WHAS11. "I believe the facts and the evidence speak to the fact that these surgeries, these medications are harmful for children. And that children, under the age of 18 -- but really anybody at any age -- they shouldn't be pursuing these types of treatments."
In a statement, Kentucky Sen. Lindsey Tichenor -- one of the Republican co-sponsors of SB 150 -- said in part, "A favorable ruling will affirm the ability to reasonably regulate dangerous and experimental medical procedures, and safeguard children from irreversible decisions before the age of consent."
The Supreme Court's opinion in this case isn't expected until next summer.
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