Supreme Court Term 2025-2026

The ACLU’s Center for Liberty and Women’s Rights Project, alongside the ACLU of Georgia, filed an amicus brief in the Georgia Supreme Court supporting a mother after a juvenile court terminated her parental rights even though at the same time the juvenile court expressly found that her continued relationship with her children would not harm them. Under Georgia’s termination statute, courts may terminate parental rights if they find that a child cannot safely return home at present, without any finding that, or even considering whether, a continued parent-child relationship would harm the child or that termination is necessary. In this case, the Department’s own caseworker testified that the mother’s weekly visits with her children went well and that the relationship benefited the children and would continue to. The children’s advocate agreed, testifying that the children had a good relationship and were bonded to their mother. Our brief urges the Court to require an individualized finding that severance is necessary to protect the child and that less drastic alternatives would not suffice. We argue that the Constitution does not permit the State to permanently end a parent-child relationship without first establishing that doing so is genuinely necessary.

On September 30, 2024, the Florida Department of Corrections rescinded its policy regarding treatment of gender dysphoria, which allowed for hormone therapy when deemed medically necessary, as well as access to clothing and grooming standards that accord with one’s gender identity. Under this new policy, grooming and clothing accommodations have been stripped away, and hormone therapy is not permitted unless an exception is deemed constitutionally required. The ACLU brought a class action challenging the policy.

Transgender young adults and families with transgender youth, together with PFLAG National and GLMA, filed a federal legal challenge against a January 2025 executive order from the Trump administration directing federal agencies to withhold funds from medical providers and institutions that provide gender-affirming medical treatments for people under nineteen.