Federal Judge Annuls Arkansas Prohibition on Transgender Minors Receiving Gender-Affirming Care

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Arkansas’ groundbreaking ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge on Tuesday, the first such ruling against a growing trend of such prohibitions instituted by Republican-controlled states.

US District Judge Jay Moody imposed a permanent injunction against the law in Arkansas, which had planned to ban physicians from delivering gender-affirming hormone therapy, puberty blockers, or surgeries to individuals under 18.

The Arkansas law, temporarily suspended by Judge Moody in 2021, had also intended to prevent doctors from directing patients elsewhere for these services. This law has set the precedent for similar restrictions or prohibitions on gender-affirming care for minors in at least 19 other states, with nearly all facing legal opposition.

In his verdict, Judge Moody stated the ban violated the due process, equal protection rights of transgender youth and their families, and the First Amendment rights of medical providers.

“Rather than ensuring children’s protection or upholding medical ethics, evidence indicates that the forbidden medical care enhances patient mental health and well-being. By prohibiting it, the state undermines the interests it purports to advance,” Moody articulated in his decision.

Other judges have made similar statements temporarily halting comparable bans in Alabama and Indiana, echoing Judge Moody’s ruling.

Arkansas Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin intends to appeal Judge Moody’s ruling to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which previously upheld the judge’s interim order against the law. Griffin expressed disappointment with the verdict, referring to the healthcare as “experimental,” a claim refuted by the judge citing decades of clinical practice and scientific research.

The Arkansas ban, enacted by Republican legislators in 2021 despite former GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s veto, has implications for similar prohibitions in other states, potentially deterring their enactment.

The ruling sends a clear message, according to Holly Dickson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas. “Fear and disinformation about this healthcare fail under scrutiny; it harms trans youth and must stop,” she said.

The ACLU took legal action against the law on behalf of four transgender youths, their families, and two physicians.

More states are preparing to introduce bans on transgender youth care. The Democratic governor of Louisiana plans to veto a similar prohibition, although the Republican legislature likely has the votes to override it. North Carolina and Ohio are also considering such bans.

Three states have imposed restrictions on the care through regulatory or administrative orders, and Florida’s law extends beyond prohibiting treatments for youth. It also bans the use of state funds for gender-affirming care and imposes new restrictions on adults seeking treatment. A federal judge has temporarily stopped Florida from enforcing its ban on three children who have challenged the law.

Children’s hospitals nationwide have been subject to threats and harassment for providing such care.

The state maintained that the ban is within its jurisdiction to regulate the medical profession. Critics argue that children are too young to make such life-altering decisions, while major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, are against the bans and experts attest to the safety of treatments when properly administered.

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, successor to Hutchinson, signed legislation in March to reinstate Arkansas’ ban indirectly by making it easier to sue providers of gender-affirming care for minors. This law doesn’t come into effect until later this summer.

On Tuesday, Sanders labeled the care as “activists pushing a political agenda at the detriment of our kids.”

Dylan Brandt, a 17-year-old transgender youth challenging the state’s ban, expressed gratitude for the ruling in a statement released by the ACLU.

Sabrina Jennen, another transgender youth who sued over the ban, experienced a “wave of relief” over

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More about Transgender Minors Healthcare Ban Overruled

• ACLU’s statement on the ruling
• American Medical Association’s stance on gender-affirming treatment
• Details on similar laws in other states
• Coverage on the initial Arkansas ban
• American Academy of Pediatrics’ position on gender-affirming care
• Understanding Gender Dysphoria and the Controversy