Tennessee — Yesterday, the Justice Department announced it had dismissed the “ill-fated Biden-era” lawsuit against a Tennessee law that protects minors from experimental sex-change procedures. The Department dismissed the complaint in intervention saying that it does not believe a challenge to the Tennessee law serves public interest. The Department dismissed the challenge in prejudice.
Last month, the challenge from the Biden Administration was rejected by the Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision. The Supreme Court held that the Tennessee law does not violate the Equal Protection Clause. They ruled that Tennessee had a rational basis to enforce the law since it “responds directly” to the “uncertainty” and “ongoing debate” about the “risks and benefits” of these types of medical practices.
Individual plaintiffs and the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the law when it was passed in 2023. The Biden Administration filed the complaint in intervention. Tennessee is one of 25 states with laws to protect minors from these experimental medical procedures.
“Last month, the Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee state law protecting vulnerable children from genital mutilation and other so-called ‘gender-affirming care,’” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a press release. “That was the right decision, and this Department of Justice will no longer be in the business of attacking laws like Tennessee’s that protect children.”
