Date of Completion

5-2026

Degree Type

Honors Thesis

Discipline

Political Science (POLS)

First Advisor

Dr. Evan Gerstmann

Abstract

In 2025, roughly 2.1 million adults in America identify as transgender, making up around 1% of the country’s total population. Despite this, the transgender identity has become a focus of political debates and made its way onto the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket in U.S. v. Skrmetti. The issue is not whether transgender people exist, but rather, how they ought to exist legally: if and when one can access medical care to pursue a gender transition. While many American doctors agree that these treatments are life-saving, since 2021, a slew of legislation has limited access for adults 18-21 (AMA, 2021). This thesis will examine the constitutionality of Puerto Rico Law 63, Tennessee SB-1, and Nebraska LB-574. All laws must comply with the protections extended by the U.S. Constitution, yet each aforementioned law sets a different age threshold for adults seeking gender-affirming care. This thesis will argue that laws that restrict or ban access to care for adults ages 18-21 violate their rights to Due Process. Further, this paper will offer a different avenue for how the Constitution might be used to protect the right to transition.

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