In 2023, the Tennessee Legislature banned transgender treatments for children. Three transgender children, their parents, and a physician challenged the constitutionality of the law in federal court. The challenge was resolved in June by the Supreme Court in United States v. Skrmetti.
The Equal Protection Clause
The plaintiffs claimed the Tennessee law violated the part of the 14th amendment known as the equal protection clause. That clause says, “Nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor, is Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence at the Mountain States Policy Center and the Independence Institute. He authored “The Original Constitution” (4th ed., 2025) and is a contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.”
