U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee Law Protecting Children From Sex-Change Procedures
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Little Rock, Ark. — On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision upholding a Tennessee law that prohibits medical professionals from performing sex-change procedures on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
Family Council President Jerry Cox issued a statement, saying, “This is a victory for families and children everywhere. The court’s decision points out there are ‘fierce scientific and policy debates’ about performing sex-change surgeries on kids or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. In the past five years, public health experts in Europe and America have begun sounding the alarm about these procedures. The U.S. Supreme Court is doing the right thing by letting Tennessee protect children.”
Cox pointed out that Arkansas was the first state in the nation to pass a law protecting children from sex-change procedures. “In 2021, the Arkansas Legislature overwhelmingly passed the Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act. This good law protects children in Arkansas from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries. Since then, roughly half the states in America have passed laws similar to the SAFE Act. Unfortunately, the SAFE Act has been tied up in court since 2021. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Tennessee’s version of the SAFE Act, we believe Arkansas will be free to protect children from these procedures as well.”
Cox praised Arkansas’ lawmakers and attorney general for passing and defending the SAFE Act. “Arkansas’ lawmakers stood up for children by passing the SAFE Act in 2021. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has worked tirelessly to defend the SAFE Act in court. Since 2021, scientific research has continued to show Arkansas was right to pass a law protecting children from sex-change procedures. Public opinion polling shows Arkansans support laws like the SAFE Act. Today’s supreme court victory means Arkansas will be able to protect children. That is something to celebrate.”
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Shielded from Justice: Abortionists Hide Behind State Laws
Last week the Associated Press reported how pro-abortion “shield laws” help abortionists in other states violate pro-life laws in states like Arkansas.
In 2022 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade — effectively letting Arkansas prohibit abortion except to save the life of the mother. State law prohibits abortion drugs from being mailed or delivered into Arkansas. However, some states — like New York and Massachusetts — have enacted “shield laws” that protect abortionists who send abortion drugs across state lines. If an abortionist in one of these states mails abortion drugs to Arkansas, the state’s “shield law” prevents the abortionist from being prosecuted.
The A.P. writes,
Dr. Margaret Carpenter faces a felony charge in Louisiana for supplying abortion medication through the mail to a pregnant teen in that state. The patient’s mother also faces criminal charges. A Texas judge fined the same physician $100,000 after the state accused her of prescribing abortion medication for a woman near Dallas.
So far, the prosecution hasn’t progressed thanks to New York’s shield law, which has protected Carpenter from extradition to Louisiana. But other telehealth centers operating in states with similar legal protections for abortion providers are watching closely.
Abortion drugs don’t just kill unborn children. They also harm women.
A recent study by the experts at the Ethics and Public Policy Center shows abortion drugs are at least 22 times more dangerous than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling indicates.
The study — which relied on all-payer insurance claims data from 2017 to 2023 — found nearly one in nine women suffered serious health complications like sepsis, infection, and hemorrhaging as a direct result of the abortion drugs.
Abortion drugs simply should not be for sale in America — and abortionists certainly should not be free to mail them across state lines.
Last year Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin issued cease-and-desist letters to New York companies advertising abortion pills in Arkansas in violation of Arkansas law. The A.G.’s office later reported that the advertisements for abortion pills stopped as a result of their cease-and-desist. As we said at the time, that is good news — but it is clear that more work needs to be done to stop these dangerous drugs.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.