LOVEboldly Condemns Supreme Court Decision Upholding Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 18, 2025

WESTERVILLE, OH — Today, the Supreme Court allowed a lower court ruling in United States v. Skrmetti to stand, effectively upholding Tennessee’s ban on life-saving, evidence-based gender-affirming care for transgender youth. LOVEboldly condemns this decision as a tragic step backward for justice, compassion, and the dignity of God’s beloved children.

The ruling will have devastating consequences for countless transgender youth and their families—not only in Tennessee, but across the country as other states are emboldened to follow suit. By upholding this ban, the Court has chosen fear over love, ideology over science, and exclusion over the inclusive call of the Gospel.

“As Christians and as people of faith, we are called to guard the vulnerable, to speak up for the marginalized, and to embody the radical love of Jesus Christ,” said the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp, Executive Director of LOVEboldly. “Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves—not to legislate them out of existence. This decision will harm children. It will harm families. It force more families to make the impossible decision between their homes and communities and the health and wellness of their children. It will continue to tell Trans youth that their is something wrong with being who God created them to be.”

Scripture compels us to act in times of injustice. The prophet Micah reminds us that God requires us “to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8, NRSV). In Galatians 3:28, we are assured that in Christ “there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one.” These sacred truths affirm the full humanity and divine worth of our transgender siblings.

The Court's ruling also sends a chilling message to LGBTQIA+ people of faith that their existence is incompatible with the faith traditions they cherish. LOVEboldly rejects this message. We believe that transgender people are wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of God (Psalm 139), and that nothing—not courts, not lawmakers, not public opinion—can separate them from the love of God.

LOVEboldly calls on Christians everywhere to stand with transgender youth and their families. We will not be silent. We will not give up. We will continue to walk with Transgender youth, Transgender adults, and their families, offering compassion and solidarity rooted in Jesus' love.

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For media inquiries or interviews, please contact:

Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp

Executive Director, LOVEboldly

press@loveboldly.net | www.loveboldly.net