Washington (June 18, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement, today released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision to uphold Tennessee’s cruel and discriminatory law that bans access to essential gender-affirming care for trans youth in United States v. Skrmetti.

“Today, hate won. The far-right justices of the Supreme Court endorsed hate and discrimination by delivering a win for Republicans who have relentlessly and cruelly attacked transgender Americans for years. With 25 states already having laws in place that ban gender-affirming care for trans youth, the Supreme Court has cleared the way for families in half of the country to no longer access the medically necessary and life-saving care they need for their children. 

“But here is what no Court nor politician can ever change: trans people will continue to exist. Their health care is lifesaving and essential, and trans rights are human rights. We have a fight ahead of us, but discrimination and hate cannot and must not win.”

On September 3, 2024, Senator Markey and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Representatives Mark Pocan (WI-02), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), and Frank Pallone (NJ-06) led 159 of their colleagues in submitting an amicus brief in United States v. Skrmetti, urging the Supreme Court to strike Tennessee’s ban, highlighting that the ban is driven by animosity towards transgender people and how health care bans dictate decisions that should be made between patients, health providers, and their families.

On March 30, 2023, Senator Markey and Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) introduced the?Transgender Bill of Rights, a landmark resolution to recognize the federal government’s duty in protecting and codifying the rights of transgender and nonbinary people, as well as to ensure trans people have access to medical care, shelter, safety, and economic security. The resolution creates a comprehensive framework for these protections to ensure that trans and nonbinary Americans are not discriminated against on the basis of gender identity or expression.

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