Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth upheld by appeals court
Trans rights have been under attack, which could lead to discrimination and harm for trans people. (Getty)
Trans rights have been under attack, which could lead to discrimination and harm for trans people. (Getty)
Arkansas’ trans youth gender care ban has been upheld by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
On Tuesday (12 August), the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Arkansas can enforce its 2021 ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors.
The ruling reverses a lower court decision that struck down the law, ruling that it was unconstitutional. In 2023, US district judge Jay Moody issued an indefinite injunction against the ban after deeming it in violation of the equal protection rights of trans youth.
The Republican-led House Bill 1570 (HB1570), which was the first statewide ban on gender-affirming care when it passed over a veto former governor Asa Hutchinson, bans gender-affirming care for under-18s, including physically reversible puberty blockers and imposes sanctions on medical organisations and professionals that prescribed the treatment to under-18s.
It also bans gender-affirming surgeries, which have never been performed by private or public medical associations for under-15s.
In 2021, four families of trans children and two healthcare professional challenged the law, arguing that it violated their constitutional rights. A preliminary injunction from the District Court had blocked enforcement of the law since July 2021.
In its decision, the Eighth Circuit Court said Moody’s 2023 ruling conflicts with the Supreme Court’s decision in the US v Skrmetti, which found a similar law banning gender-affirming care for minors in Tennessee does not discriminate on the basis of sex.
Judge Duane Benton wrote in the order: “Because the district court rested its permanent injunction on incorrect conclusions of law, it abused its discretion. The judgment is reversed and the case remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
‘Tragically unjust result’
Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, said of the judgement: “This is a tragically unjust result for transgender Arkansans, their doctors, and their families.
“The state had every opportunity and failed at every turn to prove that this law helps children; in fact, this is a dangerous law that harms children. The law has already had a profound impact on families across Arkansas who all deserve a fundamental right to do what is best for their children.”
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