The justices ruled that Tennessee’s law, which prohibited some medical treatments for transgender youths, did not violate equal protection principles.

The conservative Supreme Court dealt a significant blow to transgender Americans on Wednesday, issuing a sweeping decision that may have implications beyond the medical care that was at center of one of the court’s highest-profile disputes this year.

An American Civil Liberties Union lawyer says the Supreme Court decision upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors is “a devastating loss for transgender people” and "everyone who cares about the Constitution.