2025 was a year marked by significant victories for truth, parental authority, and the protection of children: three legal battlegrounds where Independent Women’s core principles came into sharp focus. From courtrooms to statehouses, conservative legal wins underscored the importance of sex-based distinctions, parental rights in education, and safeguarding minors from irreversible procedures.
Everyone loves the party game “Two Truths and a Lie.” Can you identify which of the following statements about the Legal Winners of 2025 is a lie?
A. In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of parents, holding that public schools violated their rights by removing an opt-out for LGBTQ+ themed books.
B. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Tennessee v. Cardona that strikes down the Biden administration’s unlawful attempt to redefine “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity.”
C. In U.S. v. Skrmetti, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a state law banning irreversible medical surgeries, procedures, cross-sex hormones, and puberty blockers for minors.
Let’s take these statements one at a time:
A. TRUTH! In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major victory for parents by holding that Montgomery County Public Schools violated families’ constitutional rights when it eliminated an opt-out for instruction involving LGBTQ+-themed books. The Court made clear that parents do not surrender their convictions or moral authority when they choose public education for their children. By reaffirming that parents, not the government, hold the responsibility for shaping their children’s upbringing, the Court strengthened a foundational principle that public schools cannot coerce families into abandoning deeply held beliefs, and for parents across the country, the decision was a watershed moment in restoring long-overdue respect for parental rights in the classroom.
B. LIE! Contrary to the statement, the U.S. Supreme Court did not decide Tennessee v. Cardona in 2025. Instead, the year’s major Title IX ruling came from a federal district court judge in Kentucky, who struck down the Biden administration’s sweeping reinterpretation of “sex” to include “gender identity” in Title IX. This decision was a significant legal win, and one that protected the integrity of women’s sports and sex-based protections. Although this ruling sets an important precedent and halted Biden’s illegal attempt to rewrite Title IX by executive fiat, it does not carry the nationwide finality that a Supreme Court decision would. The Supreme Court will weigh in on this issue in 2026.
C. TRUTH! In U.S. v. Skrmetti, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s law prohibiting irreversible medical procedures, cross-sex hormones, and puberty blockers for minors, a landmark win for the protection of children. The Court recognized that states have a compelling interest in protecting children from experimental, life-altering, cross-sex interventions. In affirming the state’s authority to regulate these practices, the decision reinforced a commonsense principle that children are not experiments, and states have both the right and the duty to shield them from harm.
Bottom Line: These rulings are among the most consequential decisions of the year. They aren’t just court wins; they’re affirmations of foundational values: truth rooted in biological reality, parental authority in education, and the inherent duty to protect children. As we head into 2026, these victories remind us that the law and the courts remain a powerful safeguard when ideology threatens common sense. And for Independent Women’s Law Center, they signal continued momentum in the fight to preserve the rights of women and children nationwide.