June 29, 2025
On June 18th, the United States Supreme Court issued a devastating ruling against trans people in the case of United States vs Skrmetti.
Joining several other states, Tennessee passed SB1 into law in 2023, a bill which effectively bans gender-affirming medical treatments like hormone replacement therapy and hormone blockers for minors. In the Skrmetti case, three transgender teens and their parents challenged this Tennessee law, citing the Equal Protections Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In the 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Tennessee's law did not violate the constitution, meaning trans kids and teens are legally blocked from receiving gender-affirming care.
This decision has ramifications across the country, as 27 states have current laws on the books banning gender-affirming care for minors. Though we in Illinois benefit from laws that explicitly protect this kind of care, all neighboring states except for Wisconsin have total bans on youth care. It is also unclear what this Supreme Court decision could mean for future national bans or bans on care for adults. Already, several states have proposed or passed legislation that make gender-affirming care more difficult to access through more severe gatekeeping or restricting state funds from covering it.
Though trans youth and adults in Illinois do not face intense restrictions now, there is nothing to guarantee that there will not be restrictions at the federal level in the future. This is why GEO is devoted to explicitly protecting transgender people in our bargaining process, for example through demanding that grad employee health programs must cover gender-affirming care of all kinds. While CampusCare covers some common forms of gender-affirming healthcare like hormone replacement therapy, it does not currently cover other care like laser hair removal or voice training. These are important forms of care that we must demand as workers.
As pride month comes to a close, it's imperative to remember that liberation for LGBTQ+ people comes through collective action and shared struggle. Through our Union, we can collectively fight for the rights of all grad workers, and their families, at UIC!