Protect Transgender Kids: What Is “Protection” in Light of Bans on Gender-Affirming Care?

This Note examines the growing legal and constitutional conflict surrounding state laws that ban or restrict gender-affirming care for transgender minors. At the heart of the issue lies the clash between state authority and the constitutionally protected rights of parents under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Drawing on medical consensus that affirms the necessity and efficacy of gender-affirming care, the Note argues that these laws not only endanger the well-being of transgender youth but also infringe on parents' fundamental rights to direct their children’s medical treatment. The analysis highlights how some states mischaracterize gender-affirming care as a form of child abuse to justify discriminatory legislation under the pretense of child protection. Ultimately, this Note contends that such laws violate constitutional guarantees by unlawfully interfering with parental decision-making and perpetuating harm against transgender youth under a false mantle of state interest.