Wisconsin does not ban trans youth care. Court ruling opens door.
Advocates are nervous, because Wisconsin’s status as a purple state means it could swing one way or the other after any major election. Natalie EilbertMadeline HeimMilwaukee Journal Sentinel 
- The Supreme Court upheld state bans on gender-affirming care for minors, even if parents approve of the treatment.
- Wisconsin currently allows gender-affirming care for minors, but advocates worry about future restrictions given the political climate.
- Studies show gender-affirming care reduces depression, anxiety, and suicidality in transgender youth, while regret rates for related surgeries are low.
Joey Bliss didn’t realize he could love himself until he heard an audio recording of his voice. It was the first time he sounded like himself: a young man finishing up his first semester of college.
Born female, he’d been shopping in the men’s section of clothing stores since he was in middle school. When he was forced to wear girl’s clothing for formal occasions, his discomfort was obvious in ways his loved ones, including his mother Ann, noticed. He came out to his mother when he was 14.
But neither baggy clothing nor a name change hid his voice. His passion for speaking on his high school forensics team only added to his insecurities.
After six months of testosterone shots his senior year of high school, Bliss felt more self assured. His voice deepened. And his boost in confidence crystallized his decision to get a full hysterectomy during his college freshman year.
At 19, he’s not sure he would have pursued college if he was forced to be someone he wasn’t. Bliss believes his mental health would have continued to plummet without those support systems in place.
He received treatment because he lives in Wisconsin, a state that doesn’t ban gender-affirming care for minors. In recent years, transgender rights, especially for youths, have become a flashpoint in the U.S. as a growing number of states across the country restrict medical care for transgender youth.
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision not only upheld those bans but also struck more worry into transgender youth and those who care for LGBTQ+ youths across the country.
Plaintiffs in United States v. Skrmetti argued that a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care, such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery, violated transgender youths’ constitutional right to equal protection. Justices on June 18 ruled 6-3 in favor of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, allowing bans on gender-affirming care to continue there and in two dozen other states. Notably, the justices did not address parental rights, meaning medical care could not be provided even if a parent wanted their child to have it.
Wisconsin may not be one of those states, but it could be without the veto pen of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, which isn’t guaranteed beyond fall 2026. Evers in 2023 vetoed a Republican-authored bill that would have banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
Advocates are nervous, because Wisconsin’s status as a purple state means it could swing one way or the other after any major election. The Supreme Court’s decision has sent a message to Wisconsin’s transgender youths, regardless of the political climate today.
Bliss also suggested that banning care for some kids takes a broader toll on the LGBTQ+ community.
“It’s easy to say ‘We’ll get through this’ but realistically, some of us won’t,” Bliss said. “These laws and bills being proposed and passed hurt all of us.”
Gender-affirming care reduces depression, anxiety and suicide in trans youth
Gender-affirming medical care supports people whose gender identity is out of sync with the sex they were assigned at birth. In young people, it includes the use of puberty blockers to delay puberty in adolescents, hormones to allow a person to develop physical traits of the gender identity with which they align, and behavioral health counseling to support young people considering gender-affirming medical interventions.
Surgeries are very rare among minors, and medical treatment is not offered to children before puberty.
Research shows that receiving gender-affirming care can reduce depression, anxiety and suicidality in trans youth. Young people who identify as trans and nonbinary are at an exceptionally high risk for mental health conditions — not because of how they identify, but the trauma, stigma and rejection they endure in society.
Major American medical organizations ranging from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the American Psychiatric Association not only support the practice, a position they continually reaffirm, but have released statements condemning the Supreme Court ruling on the basis that it “strips patients and families of the choice to direct their own health care.”
On average, 1% of people who undergo surgeries regret the decision.
The rate of detransition, in which people not only regret but stop or reverse their gender transition process, has varied widely. But studies have found detransition rates range from 1% to 13%, with many attributing detransition to external factors like discrimination and societal pressures.
Why this landmark case matters in Wisconsin
The two largest gender-affirming care clinics for young people in Wisconsin are Children’s Wisconsin’s Gender Health Clinic in Milwaukee and UW Health’s Pediatric and Adolescent Transgender Health, or PATH, clinic in Madison.
Children’s made headlines in February when it put all new patients and procedures at its Gender Health Clinic on hold after President Donald Trump’s executive order that attempts to cease federal funding for gender-affirming care for children and teens up to 19 years old. UW Health, meanwhile, could not confirm or deny whether the order impacted PATH services.
Both clinics restored services soon after reports from multiple news organizations, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Asked now whether the Supreme Court ruling had any impact on their services, a UW Health spokesperson said the clinic continues to serve new and existing patients as medically appropriate.
A spokesperson from Children’s also confirmed the Supreme Court ruling hasn’t impacted treatment services for new and existing patients.
Health care access for trans youths in Wisconsin should, at least theoretically, not be impacted by the Supreme Court decision, said Abigail Swetz, executive director of Fair Wisconsin.
But it does present a troubling new precedent, she said.
“This decision is happening within a broader context of an administration that is incredibly hostile to trans rights, specifically hostile to the important care for trans youth,” Swetz said. “None of this happens in a vacuum.”
Chris Allen, president and CEO of Diverse & Resilient, said his organization has been fielding calls from the people it serves worried about the impacts of recent policies and decisions. Diverse & Resilient works on health equity and safety for LGBTQ people across the state.
Allen is well aware that the federal government’s abrupt change in the way it treats transgender people from former President Joe Biden’s administration to President Donald Trump’s could happen at the state level, with serious implications.
“We’re always on that peak of: Are we one election away from losing rights or for things to be made harder for our communities?” he said.
As Bliss considers the usual young adult questions of what he wants to do when he graduates from college, he’s also having conversations with family about whether he can even stay in the country.
“There’s only so long you can stay in one place before you realize it’s unsafe,” Bliss said.
Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at [email protected] or view her X (Twitter) profile at @natalie_eilbert.Madeline Heim covers health and the environment for the Journal Sentinel. Contact her at [email protected].
Gender-affirming medical care supports people whose gender identity is out of sync with the sex they were assigned at birth. In young people, it includes the use of puberty blockers to delay puberty in adolescents, hormones to allow a person to develop physical traits of the gender identity with which they align, and behavioral health counseling to support young people considering gender-affirming medical interventions.
Surgeries are very rare among minors, and medical treatment is not offered to children before puberty.
Research shows that receiving gender-affirming care can reduce depression, anxiety and suicidality in trans youth. Young people who identify as trans and nonbinary are at an exceptionally high risk for mental health conditions — not because of how they identify, but the trauma, stigma and rejection they endure in society.
Major American medical organizations ranging from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the American Psychiatric Association not only support the practice, a position they continually reaffirm, but have released statements condemning the Supreme Court ruling on the basis that it “strips patients and families of the choice to direct their own health care.”
On average, 1% of people who undergo surgeries regret the decision.
The rate of detransition, in which people not only regret but stop or reverse their gender transition process, has varied widely. But studies have found detransition rates range from 1% to 13%, with many attributing detransition to external factors like discrimination and societal pressures.
Why this landmark case matters in Wisconsin
The two largest gender-affirming care clinics for young people in Wisconsin are Children’s Wisconsin’s Gender Health Clinic in Milwaukee and UW Health’s Pediatric and Adolescent Transgender Health, or PATH, clinic in Madison.
Children’s made headlines in February when it put all new patients and procedures at its Gender Health Clinic on hold after President Donald Trump’s executive order that attempts to cease federal funding for gender-affirming care for children and teens up to 19 years old. UW Health, meanwhile, could not confirm or deny whether the order impacted PATH services.
Both clinics restored services soon after reports from multiple news organizations, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Asked now whether the Supreme Court ruling had any impact on their services, a UW Health spokesperson said the clinic continues to serve new and existing patients as medically appropriate.
A spokesperson from Children’s also confirmed the Supreme Court ruling hasn’t impacted treatment services for new and existing patients.
Health care access for trans youths in Wisconsin should, at least theoretically, not be impacted by the Supreme Court decision, said Abigail Swetz, executive director of Fair Wisconsin.
But it does present a troubling new precedent, she said.
“This decision is happening within a broader context of an administration that is incredibly hostile to trans rights, specifically hostile to the important care for trans youth,” Swetz said. “None of this happens in a vacuum.”
Chris Allen, president and CEO of Diverse & Resilient, said his organization has been fielding calls from the people it serves worried about the impacts of recent policies and decisions. Diverse & Resilient works on health equity and safety for LGBTQ people across the state.
Allen is well aware that the federal government’s abrupt change in the way it treats transgender people from former President Joe Biden’s administration to President Donald Trump’s could happen at the state level, with serious implications.
“We’re always on that peak of: Are we one election away from losing rights or for things to be made harder for our communities?” he said.
As Bliss considers the usual young adult questions of what he wants to do when he graduates from college, he’s also having conversations with family about whether he can even stay in the country.
“There’s only so long you can stay in one place before you realize it’s unsafe,” Bliss said.
Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at [email protected] or view her X (Twitter) profile at @natalie_eilbert.Madeline Heim covers health and the environment for the Journal Sentinel. Contact her at [email protected].
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