Senator Hoylman-Sigal Statement on Supreme Court Decision to Uphold Tennessee’s Ban on Gender Affirming Care for Minors

Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal said: “I am appalled that the Supreme Court incoherently undermined well-established applications of the Equal Protection Clause to allow states to blatantly discriminate against transgender Americans. To be clear, the Court went to great lengths to reach its preferred political outcome - letting states ban access to gender-affirming care for minors. As a result, more than half of the states in this country will be enabled to continue to police Trans people and prohibit access to essential medical care on the basis of gender identity. Simply put, this dangerous decision, which comes out the same day that the federal government announced it plans to direct the national suicide prevention hotline to stop offering specialized support to L.G.B.T.Q. Americans, will put lives at risk.

Fortunately, New York remains committed to protecting our transgender community. This legislative session, both houses passed our Trans Shield bill (S.4914) to ensure that, in the face of hostility from other states, New York continues to protect providers, recipients and facilitators of gender affirming care. Our legislation makes clear that New York courts and legal system cannot be used to pursue claims under regressive anti-Trans laws passed in other states and expands New York’s legal protections for medical professionals administering gender affirming or reproductive care to include not just doctors and nurses, but also therapists, speech pathologists, and advanced practice clinicians. This will mean that no other state will have the authority to investigate, prosecute, or punish New York based medical providers, patients, or supporters of reproductive health care or gender-affirming care. 

Today’s decision does not change the fact that New York State is, and always will be, a safe haven for L.G.B.T.Q Americans, including those pursuing gender affirming care.”

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