Local trans advocates in wake of Supreme Court decision: ‘We will not back down’

People gather in support of transgender youth during a rally at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City in January 2023.

People gather in support of transgender youth during a rally at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City in January 2023. ap file/Rick Bowmer

FILE - People gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Oct. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - People gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Oct. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) Susan Walsh

A protester is silhouetted against a trans pride flag during a pro-transgender rights protest outside of Seattle Children's Hospital, Feb. 9, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, file)

A protester is silhouetted against a trans pride flag during a pro-transgender rights protest outside of Seattle Children's Hospital, Feb. 9, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, file) ap file/Lindsey Wasson

By EMILEE KLEIN

Staff Writer

Published: 06-20-2025 8:33 AM

NORTHAMPTON — In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Wednesday to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming health care for minors, locally-based Transhealth is sending a clear message to its patients and the community: health and community services for trans individuals in the commonwealth will persist as long as trans people exist.

“Our power has always come from within the community, and that power will only grow,” Transhealth said in a statement on Wednesday. “Courts and politicians may try to restrict our rights, but they cannot define our value or control the reality of our identified and lived experiences. We will not back down from this truth.”

The Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Skrmetti arrived on the same day that the Trump administration sent nonprofit Trevor Project a stop work order for its LGBTQ+ suicide prevention hotline. Federal funds will continue to support the 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, but the tailored support options to LGBTQ+ youth and young adults will end on July 17.

The decision is raising alarm bells among LGBTQ+ advocates. Federal data shows the LGBTQ+ youth program has served nearly 1.3 million callers since it started in September 2022. The services were accessible under the “Press 3” option on the phone or by replying “PRIDE” via text.

The consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Tennessee case will likely echo across the country, as 26 states have similar bans to Tennessee. However, Massachusetts is not one of them.

“At Transhealth, we want our patients and their families to know this: your care is not changing in Massachusetts,” the organization’s statement reads. “Gender-affirming care is good, proven healthcare supported by every major medical association. Trans youth deserve safety, support and the freedom to grow into who they are on their own terms.”

In his majority opinion Wednesday, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that Tennessee’s ban does not violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause, which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same.

Since President Donald Trump returned to office this year, the federal government has been trying to restrict access.

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“This ruling is a direct and cruel attack on trans lives across the country,” Transhealth wrote. “The court’s majority employed a standard of review that allowed it to endorse what is obviously outright discrimination. It gives states a green light to ignore medical and scientific expertise in denying young people the care they need.”

Gender-affirming care includes a range of medical and mental health services to support a person’s gender identity, or their sense of feeling male, female, neither, or some combination of both. Sometimes that’s different from the sex they were assigned at birth.

This category of health care encompasses counseling and treatment with medications that block puberty and hormone therapy to produce physical changes. Hormone therapy for transgender men causes periods to stop, increases facial and body hair and deepens voices. The hormones used by transgender women can have effects such as slowing growth of body and facial hair and increasing breast growth. Fewer than one in 1,000 U.S. adolescents receive gender-affirming medications, a study released this year found.

Gender-affirming care can also include surgery, including operations to transform genitals and chests. These surgeries are rarely offered to minors.

“This ruling is a betrayal of our youth and a stark reminder that legality is not the same as justice,” Tre’Andre Valentine, executive director of Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, said in a statement. “The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth is a devastating act of state-sanctioned erasure. It ignores medical consensus, undermines the rights of families, and fuels a dangerous political agenda that targets the most vulnerable among us.”

Founded in 2001, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition is an advocacy organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on gender identity and expression in the commonwealth.

Not only are trans individuals more suspectable to mental health complications, but they are more vulnerable to gender-based violence. Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, notes that over half the trans population has experienced both domestic and sexual violence.

“It is particularly concerning because the medical system can already be an unsafe setting for trans survivors, with 1 in 10 trans survivors experiencing assault from a health care provider,” the coalition’s statement reads.

In its statement, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition predicts Massachusetts may see a migration of trans and nonbinary people seeking gender-affirming care. With the state’s health care system already strained from under staffing, the organization asks the state and its residents to prepare for additional health care challenges. MTPC’s REACH program monetarily supports gender-affirming care procedures.

“But no court can define who we are or diminish the truth of our existence,” Valentine said. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to trans youth and their right to thrive — unapologetically, joyfully, and with dignity.”

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell echoed the statements of these organizations on Wednesday, saying that the law unfairly and dangerously denies transgender youth access to life-changing medical treatments.

“I am deeply disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Tennessee’s harmful ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors,” Campbell said. “This ruling denies trans youth access to medically necessary treatment and ignores overwhelming evidence of its life-saving benefits, as well as the medical judgment of doctors and parents. In the face of this cruel setback, I stand with trans youth and their families and remain committed to defending their rights and well-being in Massachusetts and across the country.”

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.