Supreme Court ruling won't affect access to gender-affirming care in Colorado, but impact may felt

CBS News

19-06-2025

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser says a U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued Wednesday will not affect access to gender-affirming care in the state. The divided court upheld a Tennessee law that restricts certain medical treatments for transgender minors, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and some surgeries.
Twenty-six other states have enacted similar restrictions.
However, Colorado passed a law in 2023 protecting access to gender-affirming care.
In a statement, Weiser said, "Parents with trusted medical providers know what is best for their child and should have the option to seek the care their child needs."
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 17: The U.S. Supreme Court is shown March 17, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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Denver Health also told CBS Colorado the ruling will not impact its ability or commitment to continue offering gender-affirming care.
Advocates on both sides say the ruling could still influence how families across the country access — or avoid — gender-affirming care.
On Wednesday, the decision reignited a national debate over who should have the authority to make healthcare decisions for transgender youth.
Steven Haden, founder of the Colorado-based nonprofit Envision: You, warned the ruling could put transgender and nonbinary youth at risk in states where such care is banned.
"LGBTQ youth are already at a significantly higher risk of suicide than straight youth — with greater rates of depression, anxiety, substance use, and eating disorders," Haden said.
However, some parents welcomed the ruling.
Erin Lee, a mother and founder of Protect Kids Colorado, said her daughter was introduced to gender identity discussions at age 12 without her consent — something she believes contributed to serious mental health struggles.
"My daughter was recruited into a secret gender club at school — without my consent," Lee said.
She said her daughter was exposed to adults outside the family and connected with them online.
"She was taught how to medicalize, how to see a gender-affirming care therapist without my knowledge, how to pursue puberty blockers — and she was told to keep it all a secret from us. We were lucky to find out and help her through the confusion," she said.
Lee says that after about a year, her daughter realized she was not a boy and is now comfortable in her identity. That experience, she says, motivates her to speak out.
"So many other families came forward with similar stories — kids convinced at school they were the opposite sex and told not to tell their parents," Lee said. "I realized this was a pervasive issue that needed attention."
Her daughter is no longer transgender-identified, and Lee is now advocating for a 2026 ballot initiative that would ban gender-affirming care for minors in Colorado.
"Kids cannot consent to irreversible medical treatments," she said. "I believe children should have time to develop — to work through mental health distress — before making irreversible, life-altering decisions about their bodies. Gender dysphoria is real; we've lived through it. But it's a mental health issue."
Colorado remains one of the few states with laws protecting healthcare for transgender youth.
The organization Transcontinental Pipeline helps queer; transgender and LGBT people move from unsafe and unaccepting environments within the U.S. to Colorado. A spokesperson for the nonprofit tells CBS Colorado that since the November election, it has received roughly 900 applications from individuals seeking care and other rights in Colorado — many coming from states with restrictions on transgender rights.