Supreme Court Clears Way, for Now, for Idaho to Ban Transgender Treatment for Minors

The Idaho attorney general had asked the justices to move swiftly to let the state law, which would ban gender-affirming medical care for minors, go into effect.

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The emergency application to the Supreme Court by Idaho’s attorney general said the case raised a recurring question that a majority of the justices had expressed interest in: whether a court can enact what is known as a universal injunction.

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily allowed Idaho to enforce a ban on gender-affirming treatment for minors, effectively suggesting that at least some justices appear comfortable with wading into another front in the culture wars.

In siding with state officials who had asked the court to lift a block on the law, the justices were split, with a majority of the conservative justices voting to enforce the ban over the objections of the three liberal justices. The justices also specified that their decision would remain in place until the appeals process had ended.

The court specified that it would allow the ban to apply to everyone except the plaintiffs who brought the challenge.

Although orders on the emergency docket often include no reasoning, the decision included concurrences by Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, who was joined by Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas, and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who was joined by Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented and was joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Elena Kagan noted a dissent.

The law, passed by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature, makes it a felony for doctors to provide transgender medical care for minors, including hormone treatment.

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