Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, left, and U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis

The U.S. Justice Department has filed a complaint challenging Tennessee Senate Bill 11, the recently-enacted law banning gender-affirming care to transgender minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria, according to a “breaking news” statement released at about 6:30 p.m. today (Wednesday, April 25).

SB 1 “denies necessary medical care to youth based solely on who they are,” the press release says, adding that the Justice Department complaint “alleges that SB 1’s ban on providing certain medically necessary care to transgender minors violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.”

The Justice Department has also asked the court to issue an immediate order to prevent the law from going into effect on July 1, 2023.

“SB 1’s blanket ban prohibits potential treatment options that have been recommended by major medical associations for consideration in limited circumstances in accordance with established and comprehensive guidelines and standards of care,” the press release says. “By denying only transgender youth access to these forms of medically necessary care while allowing non-transgender minors access to the same or similar procedures, SB 1 discriminates against transgender youth.”

The Justice Department complaint alleges that SB 1 violates the Equal Protection Clause by discriminating on the basis of both sex and transgender status. And, the press release points out, doctors, parents “and anyone else who provides or offers to provide the prohibited care faces the possibility of civil suits for 30 years and other sanctions.”

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said, “No person should be denied access to necessary medical care just because of their transgender status. The right to consider your health and medically-approved treatment options with your family and doctors is a right that everyone should have, including transgender children, who are especially vulnerable to serious risks of depression, anxiety and suicide.

“The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department will continue to aggressively challenge all forms of discrimination and unlawful barriers faced by the LGBTQI+ community,” Clarke said.

U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee added, “SB 1 violates the constitutional rights of some of Tennessee’s most vulnerable citizens. Left unchallenged, it would prohibit transgender children from receiving health care that their medical providers and their parents have determined to be medically necessary. In doing so, the law seeks to substitute the judgment of trained medical professionals and parents with that of elected officials and codifies discrimination against children who already face far too many obstacles.”

The complaint filed today is the latest if a series of actions by the Justice Department intended to “combat LGBTQI+ discrimination, including unlawful restrictions on medical care for transgender youth,” the press release notes.

On March 31 Clarke issued a letter to all state attorneys general reminding them of federal constitutional and statutory provisions protecting transgender youth against discrimination. And on April 29, the Justice Department intervened in a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s SB 184 which imposes a felony ban on medically necessary care for transgender minors.

“As a result of that litigation,” the press release points out, “the most significant provisions of [SB 184] have been preliminarily halted from going into effect, and the United States continues to challenge its constitutionality.”

For more information about the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division regarding LGBTQ rights, visit the website here.

To file a complaint alleging discriminatory practices use the internet reporting portal here.