The White House has joined the lawsuit filed by LGBTQ+ groups against Tennessee’s new legislation prohibiting gender-affirming care for transgender youngsters. According to a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday, the state’s refusal to provide puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, and other transition therapies “denies necessary medical care to youth based solely on who they are.”

According to the Biden administration, the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution, which mandates that the federal government apply its laws uniformly and fairly to all individuals, is being violated by the law’s implementation on July 1. According to the lawsuit, if a young person is not transgender, a doctor may recommend the same procedures. “No person should be denied access to necessary medical care just because of their transgender status,” said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

Even though a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Tennessee’s law was filed earlier this month by Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union, the courts have yet to rule on whether or not the ban will be enjoined. Before, the White House had joined similar action against Alabama’s felony restriction on gender-affirming care, which resulted in a temporary stay while LGBTQ+ organizations worked to overturn the legislation. In contrast to the Alabama legislation, which subjects medical practitioners to 10 years in prison for treating trans youngsters, the Tennessee bill instead creates a legal path for minors who subsequently “regret” the care they get and seek to sue. Few people feel regret after undergoing transition treatments.