U.S. Supreme Court North Dakota Decision Likely Months Away

(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images via the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – The U.S. Supreme Court this week upheld a Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming care for minors as a North Dakota court considers whether a similar policy violates the state constitution.

In a 6-3 vote the court’s conservative majority found that Tennessee’s law does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.

It remains to be seen whether the legal challenge against North Dakota’s law, which went to trial in January, will fare any differently. Similar to the Tennessee case, the North Dakota plaintiffs claim a violation of equal protection rights. But they’re also asking a state district court judge to decide whether the law infringes on families’ freedom to make their own health care decisions.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, indicates states have broad authority to regulate transgender health care as they see fit.