U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee Law Protecting Children From Sex-Change Procedures

Transgender, , ,

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.”

###

READ MORE

Southern Baptist Convention Affirms Biblical Views on Marriage, Gender-Identity

Marriage, , , ,

The Associated Press reports the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution affirming marriage as the union of one man and one woman and opposing transgender ideology during its annual meeting in Dallas on Tuesday.

The convention also hosted a conversation with Tennessee’s attorney general and with an Alliance Defending Freedom attorney regarding laws that protect children from sex-change procedures.

This month marks ten years since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Obergefell v. Hodges decision that struck down state marriage laws nationwide.

From 2004 to 2015, voters in more than three-fifths of the country democratically passed laws and amendments defining marriage in their respective states. In most cases, those measures defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The Obergefell ruling nullified all of those state laws.

The Southern Baptist Convention’s resolution affirms biblical marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and it calls for the reversal of the supreme court’s bad Obergefell ruling. It also opposes the normalization of transgender ideology.

Some member of the media have seemed surprised the Sothern Baptist Convention would approve a resolution like this, but there really should not be anything shocking about a Christian denomination holding Christian beliefs on marriage and gender-identity.

In 2004, the SBC approved a pro-marriage resolution saying, “The union of one man and one woman is the only form of marriage prescribed in the Bible as God’s perfect design for the family.” That resolution also called for passage of a federal marriage amendment defining marriage in America as the union of one man and one woman.

In 2014, the convention approved a resolution affirming “God’s good design that gender identity is determined by biological sex and not by one’s self-perception.”

In light of that, the SBC’s latest resolution isn’t exactly new.

Support for same-sex marriage has actually declined in recent years, and about half the states —including Arkansas — have passed laws protecting children from sex-change procedures. Many of the world’s leading health experts have found these procedures are dangerous. Americans have also expressed widespread backlash against corporations that pander to pro-LGBT groups.

Reversing the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision does not seem likely right now, but the same thing seemed true of Roe v. Wade 50 years ago. We appreciate the Southern Baptist Convention maintaining its biblical convictions regarding marriage and gender-identity.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE

Female Athletes Seek to Protect Women’s Sports in Minnesota

LGBT,

Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have filed a lawsuit on behalf of Female Athletes United to protect fairness in women’s sports in Minnesota.

Female student athletes in Minnesota have been forced to compete against biological males who identify as transgender.

The lawsuit challenges Minnesota’s decision to let males to compete in women’s sports.

We have written time and time again about how women’s athletics is in jeopardy.

Female swimmers, powerlifters, cyclists, sprinters, volleyball players, and others have seen their sports radically changed by men who claim to be women.

Letting men compete in women’s sports is unfair and reverses more than 50 years of advancements for women. In some cases — as our friends at ADF point out — it can even be dangerous.

Last year the Biden Administration released more than 1,500 pages of new rules drastically reinterpreting federal law to force public schools to let biological males compete in women’s sports and use girls’ locker rooms, showers, and changing areas at school.

In response, people across America — including Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin — filed lawsuits to block the Biden Administration’s new rules, and this year the Trump administration has taken steps to protect female athletes.

All of this reminds us why it is so important that Arkansas passed Act 461 in 2021 to prevent male athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics at school.

This good law was one of the first of its kind in the nation. To date, some 29 states have passed similar measures protecting fairness in women’s sports.

It’s also worth noting that pollsters at Gallup have found most Americans agree that athletes should compete according to their biological sex — not their gender identity.

We appreciate our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom and our policymakers who work hard to protect fairness in women’s sports both in Arkansas and across the country.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE