SCOTUS rejects South Carolina’s transgender bathroom ban in ongoing legal battle

The Supreme Court rejected a ban that would prohibit the use of gender specific public school bathrooms by the opposite sex.

The move is a brief setback in a longer-running legal battle over state policies regarding transgender individuals and public restrooms, Fox News reported.

Republican Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch would have granted South Carolina’s request, according to Fox.

Supreme Court rejects South Carolina’s bid to enforce transgender bathroom ban https://t.co/8fcOhIICyi

— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) September 11, 2025

A federal appeals court had kept the state from enforcing its ban while a case involving a ninth-grade transgender student continues. Attorneys for the student identified as John Doe argued to SCOTUS that a ban wasn’t necessary, given that the legal battle centered only on one student.

“Indeed, no student has ever complained about sharing boys’ restrooms with John, who has dressed and presented as a boy since he was a young child,” the attorneys wrote, according to Fox.

The Supreme Court declined to rule on the case’s substance, offering minimal guidance on its stance regarding a divisive cultural matter. The decision follows the court’s June ruling that upheld Tennessee’s ban on specific transgender medical treatment for minors, as the justices gear up to hear arguments this term on transgender participation in school sports, Fox reported.

“This case implicates a question fraught with emotions and differing perspectives,” South Carolina lawyers wrote regarding the latter appeal. “That is all the more reason to defer to state lawmakers pending appeal. The decision was the South Carolina legislature’s to make.”

It’s worth noting that in May 2024, South Carolina became the 25th state to ban transgender surgery for minors.

Shout out to South Carolina that just became the 25th state to ban gender transition surgery for children under 18 yrs.

I told ya we were winning- and you wanted to leave early! pic.twitter.com/8h5sywx96Q

— ReallyRowdyRed (@ReallyRowdyRed) May 22, 2024

South Carolina’s ongoing legal battle is expected to be closely watched in the months ahead.

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