CITIZEN: SCOTUS considers challenges to pro-family laws

During its next term, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider a few big cases potentially affecting Kentucky laws. These decisions could drastically impact the profamily laws we have worked so hard to pass these last couple legislative sessions. The first case potentially affecting a Kentucky law is United States v Skrmetti, which is a challenge to Tennessee’s law that prohibits children from receiving life-altering gender “transition” interventions that physically mutilate and disorder their healthy bodies. The second case is Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, which is a challenge to Texas’s age-verification law protecting children from online pornography.

Help Not Harm Law

During the 2023 legislative session, The Family Foundation worked with members of the General Assembly to pass SB 150. Amongst the many things included in SB 150 is a ban on gender “transition” surgeries, drugs, and hormones on minors. Twenty-three states have now passed similar “Help Not Harm” legislation on the issue. The ACLU launched a challenge of SB 150 shortly after its passage, putting the future of SB 150 in jeopardy. Their argument is that the 14^th Amendment to the Constitution protects a right to mutilating transgender “care.”

A district court in Kentucky blocked Kentucky from enforcing SB 150. A district court in Tennessee also blocked Tennessee’s bill on the same subject. However, the 6th Circuit reversed those decisions and allowed SB 150 and Tennessee’s law to go into effect. The Family Foundation submitted a “friend of the court” brief successfully asking the 6th Circuit to uphold SB 150.

Now, the Supreme Court will decide the merits of the 14th Amendment argument in Skrmetti. If the Supreme Court rules against Tennessee’s law, Kentucky’s law will almost certainly be blocked as well, leaving Kentucky kids vulnerable to life-altering gender “transition” interventions that physically mutilate and disorder their healthy bodies. We urge the Supreme Court to uphold these commonsense protections for minors.

Online Age Verification

During the 2024 legislative session, The Family Foundation worked with the General Assembly to pass HB 278, which included an age verification requirement protecting children from harmful adult websites. If a website fails to require proper age verification, parents may sue the website. Kentucky is one of nineteen states with such a law on the books. This summer, our executive director, David Walls, attended a gathering of allied Christian family policy council organizations and legislators, which included a celebration of the 19 states that have passed similar age verification laws.

Shortly before HB 278 went into effect, Pornhub, the world’s largest distributor of pornographic material, announced it was halting service in Kentucky. It made similar announcements in the other states that have passed age verification laws. This is a major win for Kentucky kids and families! However, allies of the porn industry are in the middle of legal efforts to overturn these age verification laws. While Kentucky’s law has not been challenged, other similar laws are currently undergoing litigation. The plaintiffs in those cases argue that age verification requirements violate First Amendment free speech protections.

A district court in Texas blocked Texas from enforcing its age verification law. However, the 5^th Circuit reversed that decision and allowed the Texas law to go into effect. The Supreme Court recently agreed to take up the age verification challenge in Free Speech Coalition. Kentucky’s age verification law will be impacted by this decision even though it is not the subject of this specific case. If the Supreme Court overturns Texas’s age verification requirements, Kentucky kids will be exposed to harmful adult content once again. We urge the Supreme Court to uphold these commonsense protections for minors.

Save Women’s Sports

The Supreme Court might also hear a case on a Save Women’s Sports law in Hecox v Little. Idaho’s Save Women’s Sports law was blocked by a district court in Idaho, and the 9th Circuit upheld that decision. The Supreme Court is currently deciding if it wants to hear that case next term as well. The Family Foundation and several female legislators from Kentucky submitted a “friend of the court” brief asking the Supreme Court to take the case. In total, 55 female state legislators from around the country and 34 organizations allied with Family Policy Alliance joined the brief.

Please pray for the Supreme Court as they hear and decide these important cases. These decisions will impact Kentucky’s ability to further protect children in addition to the validity of the laws already on the books. We hope the Supreme Court will correctly decide that the state has the constitutional authority to protect kids from life-altering gender “transition” interventions and harmful adult content. We look forward to continuing to work with our state and national allies to help craft the legal arguments necessary to defend these important laws.