AFLDS Was The Only Physician Organization To Get It Right

Washington, DC - June 18, 2025

On June 18, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States delivered a 6-3 decision in United States v. Skrmetti. The High Court held that “Tennessee’s law prohibiting certain medical treatments for transgender minors is not subject to heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and satisfies rational basis review.” Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court, joined by Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett. Alito joined in part. Justice Thomas and Justice Barrett each wrote separate opinions agreeing with the majority, and Thomas joined Barrett’s opinion as well. Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion, in which Jackson joined in full and Kagan joined in part.

Last year, Dr. Simone Gold and the AFLDS legal team filed an amici curiae brief with the Supreme Court in support of the Respondents, who were sued by the former administration over Tennessee’s law that prohibits “gender-affirming care” for minors.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote, “The Court today reserves ‘to the people, their elected representatives, and the democratic process’ the power to decide how best to address an area of medical uncertainty and extraordinary importance. That sovereign prerogative does not bow to ‘major medical organizations.’ Experts and elites have been wrong before - and they may prove to be wrong again.”

AFLDS applauds SCOTUS for upholding Tennessee’s law which protects the health and safety of children by prohibiting these dangerous interventions. In doing so, the Court has set a precedent that will safeguard the lives of countless young Americans. The medical mutilation of children is a crime against humanity. Our lawmakers must be allowed to take critical action by passing legislation that protects our Nation’s children and holds rogue doctors accountable - without Big Government interference. 

In a statement following this historic victory, AFLDS attorney David Dalia stated, “The Supreme Court got it right. There is an epidemic of reckless ideology masquerading as medicine, and Tennessee had every right to step in and protect its children. These so-called ‘gender-affirming’ treatments are grotesque experiments - lifelong medical sentences disguised as care. As Dr. Eithan Haim rightly said, this is a ‘physiological solution to a psychological problem.’ The truth is chilling: most children grow out of gender confusion but these procedures cause irreversible damage and a lifetime of pain. Tennessee stood up when it mattered, and this decision is a resounding affirmation that the state’s duty to protect children comes before political agendas.”

AFLDS Founder and President Dr. Simone Gold added, “America’s Frontline Doctors was the only physician organization to stand with Tennessee to defend the state’s right to ban these barbaric treatments on minor children. Other major medical groups supported these horrific procedures. ‘Gender-affirming care’ is one of the greatest lies ever sold. Medically mutilating healthy kids in the name of a radical ideology is not medicine. It’s abuse, and it violates the very nature of the Hippocratic Oath. No child should be permanently disfigured in the name of ideology. The Supreme Court's ruling sends a clear message to transpredators everywhere. The medical mutilation of our children will not be tolerated in the United States of America.”

Stay tuned - We will keep you updated on our progress and efforts to end the medical mutilation of children. 

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About AFLDS

We are the Nation's independent authority on ethical and transparent standards in science, health, and human rights. We provide individuals with unbiased and accurate information from the world's top experts in medicine and law so you can be empowered with facts to protect your rights, take care of your health, and safeguard your future. Visit AFLDS.org

Media Contact Lisa Alexander, Communications Director | Media@AFLDS.org