The Texas Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Texas can enforce its ban on sex alteration procedures for minors.
The Texas legislature passed SB14 last year, “Relating to prohibitions on the provision to certain children of procedures and treatments for gender transitioning, gender reassignment, or gender dysphoria and on the use of public money or public assistance to provide those procedures and treatments.”
A previous order by a Travis County trial court had blocked the enforcement of SB14, but the Texas Supreme Court 8-1 ruling on June 28 overturned that decision.
The Plaintiffs, which included the ACLU, argued that SB14 violates the Texas Constitution. The Texas Supreme Court rejected that argument, emphasizing in its written opinion “the fundamental right of all fit parents” to oversee their child’s care while acknowledging the legislature’s “legitimate interests in both regulating medical procedures and in protecting the health and wellbeing of children,” reported Texas Scorecard.
Justice Rebeca Huddle wrote the court’s majority opinion:
“We need not and do not hold that the Legislature could withdraw from parents the authority to choose any legal, available medical treatment. Rather, we hold only that novel treatments for a novel condition are generally within the Legislature’s power to regulate without facing heightened scrutiny,” Huddle wrote.
Justice Debra Lehrmann was the lone Justice with a dissenting opinion, calling it “cruel” to withhold transgender surgeries and hormones from children, reported Texas Scorecard.
“The law is not only cruel—it is unconstitutional. The Court claims that its decision today does not deprive children diagnosed with gender dysphoria of appropriate treatment; it is simply answering the legal question before it. Yet, answering the question does just what the Court denies — it effectively forecloses all medical treatment options that are currently available to these children,” Lehrmann wrote.
Lehrmann’s opinion drew criticism on X.
“FYI – she was appointed to the court by Rick Perry and has coasted to re-election twice because of the R by her name. Yes, a “Republican” judge defending child gender modification….appalling and disgraceful,” State Republican Executive Committee member Rolando Garcia posted on X.
Others supported Lehrmann’s position.
“You may not agree with Justice Lehrmann but she is the only one who bravely stood up for the [C]onstitution. She was on point with her dissent. We want constitutionalists when we agree with them but not when we don’t. Can’t have it both ways Rolando,” David W. Luther, president of the Texas Republican Chairman’s Association, posted on X.
A Finnish expert on pediatric gender care, Dr. Riittakerttu Kaltiala, reportedly stated last year that 4 out of 5 kids will grow out of gender dysphoria, citing 12 separate studies that supported her claim, per the New York Post.