Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has filed an amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of The Trevor Project, Juvenile Law Center and National Center for Youth Law opposing Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors (the “Ban”). The brief was filed in the case of United States v. Skrmetti in support of the federal government and three transgender adolescents who are arguing that the Ban violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

The brief explains that access to gender-affirming care for transgender minors is critical to their mental health and overall well-being. Both quantitative and qualitative data show that denying access to medical care and treating transgender youth disparately because of their transgender status are correlated with substantially increased risks of suicide and negative mental health outcomes. In addition, the brief explains that vulnerable populations are disproportionately harmed by transgender health care bans, including transgender youth of color, those living in poverty and rural areas, transgender foster youth and youth involved in the juvenile legal system and those experiencing housing instability.

The Debevoise team is led by litigation partner Jyotin Hamid and associates Justin R. Rassi and Amy Zimmerman, and includes associates Joseph Ptomey, Isabelle Canaan, Kimberly Mejía-Cuéllar, Nicholas Hallock, Alex Mendoza, Kaitlyn McGill, Kathryn Speckels and Natalie Tsang.