Supreme Court Declines to Hear Free Speech Case — Alarming Implications for Women and Girls Who Dissent
In a deeply troubling move for anyone concerned with the erosion of free expression, especially for women and girls, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear L.M. v. Town of Middleborough, a case that directly challenged a public school’s authority to silence students who affirm material reality — in this instance, that there are only two sexes.
The denial leaves in place a First Circuit ruling that upheld the school’s censorship of a seventh-grade boy who wore a T-shirt reading “There Are Only Two Genders.” Administrators removed him from class, claiming the message might “upset” other students. When he returned the next day with a modified version reading “There Are CENSORED Genders,” he was again silenced.
The Issue at Stake
The implications of this case go far beyond one middle school. At its core, L.M. v. Middleborough is about whether government institutions — including schools — can compel silence or enforce ideological conformity, even when the beliefs at issue contradict objective reality and infringe on the rights of women and girls.
As women committed to defending sex-based rights, we at WoLF know too well how this pattern of compelled speech operates. It begins with speech codes in classrooms and training seminars, but it ends with legal professionals, healthcare workers, and teachers being punished for refusing to lie about the difference between men and women.
The Dissent: A Warning Sign
Although the Court declined to hear the case, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas issued a clear and urgent dissent. Alito warned that the school’s actions were textbook viewpoint discrimination — allowing speech that affirmed gender ideology while suppressing dissenting views rooted in biology and common sense. Thomas added that the lower courts had grossly misapplied Tinker v. Des Moines, a foundational case protecting student speech.
The shirt was not vulgar, threatening, or disruptive. It simply stated a belief rooted in biological truth, which is that there are two sexes — a belief shared by most Americans, and which is essential to the fight for women’s legal rights. Silencing it sends a chilling message: that stating a material fact can now be treated as hate speech.
WoLF’s Work on Compelled Speech
WoLF has long been on the front lines of this issue. Through litigation, education, and public advocacy, we are fighting the spread of compelled speech in every sector — from public schools to courtrooms to workplaces.
Women and girls have the right to speak freely about our bodies, our boundaries, and our reality. We will not be coerced into saying that men can be women, or that there are “identities” more important than sex when it comes to safeguarding women’s rights.
What’s Next
The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear this case does not settle the issue — it only postpones the reckoning. As more students, workers, and professionals are punished for speaking the truth, the courts will eventually have to confront the crisis. The WoLF Attorney Resource Network (WARN) will continue to support and spotlight cases that challenge these ideological mandates and protect reality-based speech.
Stand With Us
Now more than ever, we need your support. Every day, women and girls across the country are being silenced in classrooms, courtrooms, and clinics. They are told to lie, to comply, or to disappear.
WoLF refuses.
If you believe in the power of truth, if you know that free speech is a women’s issue, and if you want to protect the right of every girl to say what she knows is true — please donate to WoLF today.