Unpacking the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Skrmetti

We the People

National Constitution Center

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4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

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Summary

On June 18, the Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law that prohibits medical transitions for transgender minors. In this episode, William Eskridge Jr. of Yale Law School and Christopher Green of The Ohio State University join to debate the decision and to discuss the meaning of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Resources United States v. Skrmetti (2025) Christopher Green, Brief amicus curiae, United States v. Skrmetti (Oct. 15, 2024) William Eskridge, et al., Brief amici curiae, United States v. Skrmetti (Sept. 3, 2024) Geduldig v. Aiello (1974) Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠ Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠⁠⁠live program⁠⁠⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠. Support our important work. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate

Transcript

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0:00.0	On June 18th, the Supreme Court delivered its decision in United States v. Scrimetti.
0:08.4	Hello, friends. I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center,
0:13.5	and welcome to We the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:17.6	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit, chartered by Congress,
0:22.1	to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:27.5	This week we'll unpack the court's decision in U.S. v. Scrimetti, which upheld a Tennessee
0:33.0	law prohibiting certain medical treatments for transgender minors.
0:44.4	To help us explore the case we have two of America's leading scholars on the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
0:50.1	William Eskrich is the Alexander Bickle Professor of Public Law at Yale Law School.
0:53.9	Professor Eskrich co-wrote an amicus brief for the petitioners in Scrimetti.
0:57.3	Professor Eskrich, it's wonderful to welcome you to we the people.
1:00.1	Thank you very much, Jeff. It's a delight to be here.
1:07.1	And Christopher Green is the Associate Director of the Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society at the Ohio State University.
1:10.9	Professor Green wrote an amicus brief for the respondents in Scrimetti.
1:13.8	Professor Green is wonderful to welcome you to We the People.
1:19.9	Great to have me on and great to be on with Bill Eskridge, who's a wonderful friend to civic dialogue. Well, let's just begin with the majority opinions and the dissents.
1:27.1	Chris, if I may, what was the holding of the majority in Scrimetti?
1:32.5	Well, so Scermetti is working against the background.
1:37.4	So this is a challenge that did not win at the lower courts.
1:42.0	So the Sixth Circuit said that Tennessee, so Tennessee and
1:46.7	many other states have essentially bans on puberty blockers and cross-gender hormones for
1:55.2	minors. The Sixth Circuit said that's okay. And the Supreme Court says that's okay. So why would that be okay
	...

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