Paul A. Eknes-Tucker, et al. v. Steven T. Marshall, Attorney General of Alabama, et al.

In 2022, the Alabama Legislature enacted a categorical ban on the use of certain medical treatments for transgender minors. The ban applies when the treatments are used “for the purpose of attempting to alter the appearance of or affirm the minor’s perception of his or her gender or sex, if that appearance or perception is inconsistent with the minor's sex.” Ala. Code § 26-26-4(a) (the “Treatment Ban”). A federal district court preliminarily enjoined the Treatment Ban as applied to the use of pubertyblocking medication and hormone therapy for transgender adolescents. The Eleventh Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction, holding that the Treatment Ban was likely to satisfy rational basis review. The questions presented are:

1. Whether Alabama’s Treatment Ban triggers heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it discriminates on the basis of sex and transgender status. The Court has already granted certiorari on this question in another case this Term. See L.W. v. Skrmetti, 83 F.4th 460 (6th Cir. 2023), cert. granted, No. 23-477, 144 S. Ct. 2679 (June 20, 2024).

2. Whether Alabama’s Treatment Ban triggers heightened scrutiny under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it burdens parents’ right to direct the medical treatment of their minor children. (i)