The high court discussed neighboring Tennessee's law banning puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender minors this week. It's a case that could influence challenges against Kentucky's Senate Bill 150, a portion of which enacted similar bans.
The court's conservative majority sounded hesitant to overturn the Tennessee law, suggesting the rule may be best left to state lawmakers.
"Doesn't that make a stronger case for us to leave those determinations (to these) the legislative bodies, rather than try to determine them for ourselves?" Chief Justice John Roberts asked during arguments.
Meanwhile, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, part of the court's liberal wing, pushed back on the idea that transgender Americans can rely on the legislative process to shield them from discrimination.
"It's very hard to see how the democratic process is going to protect you. Blacks were a much larger part of the population and it didn't protect them," she said.
The outcome of the Tennessee case could set a course for how Kentucky courts decide a legal challenge arguing the commonwealth's ban is unconstitutional — a matter that's on pause for now.
The Supreme Court isn't expected to rule on the matter until the middle of next year.