Tuesday, a federal judge declared unlawful Arkansas’ pioneering national ban on gender-affirming child care. This is the first decision to do so while an increasing number of Republican-led states enact similar bans.A permanent injunction was issued by U.S. District Judge Jay Moody against the Arkansas bill, which would have made it illegal for medical professionals to treat patients under the age of 18 with gender-affirming hormones, provide puberty inhibitors, or perform surgery.
The Arkansas legislation, which Moody temporarily overturned in 2021, also forbade physicians from referring their patients to other healthcare providers for such services.According to Moody’s order, the prohibition infringes on the rights to a fair trial and equal protection for transgender children and their families.
He claimed that by preventing medical professionals from sending patients to other facilities, the rule also infringed on their First Amendment rights.”The evidence showed that the prohibited medical care improves the mental health and well-being of patients and that, by prohibiting it, the state undermined the interests it claims to be advancing,” Moody stated in his decision. “Rather than protecting children or safeguarding medical ethics, the evidence showed that the prohibited medical care.”
Following Arkansas’ statute, at least 19 other states have passed legislation limiting or outlawing gender-affirming child care, while federal judges have temporarily overturned similar prohibitions in Alabama and Indiana. Through rules or administrative directives, three states have prohibited or limited the care.