A federal judge issued an order Friday stopping an Indiana ban on puberty blockers and hormones for transgender minors from taking effect as scheduled July 1. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sought the temporary injunction in its legal challenge of the Republican-backed law, which was enacted this spring amid a national push by GOP-led legislatures to curb LGBTQ+ rights. The order from US District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon will allow the law's prohibition on gender-affirming surgeries to take effect, per the AP. Hanlon's order also blocks provisions that would prohibit Indiana doctors from communicating with out-of-state doctors about gender-affirming care for their patients younger than 18. The ACLU filed the lawsuit within hours after Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill on April 5.
The challenge, on behalf of four youths undergoing transgender treatments and an Indiana doctor who provides such care, argued the ban would violate the US Constitution's equal protection guarantees and trample upon the rights of parents to decide medical treatment for their children. Indiana's Republican-dominated Legislature approved the ban after contentious hearings that primarily featured testimony from vocal opponents, with many arguing the gender-affirming care lessened the risk of depression and suicide among transgender youth. Hanlon, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, wrote that he was blocking the law from taking effect because its opponents had demonstrated potential irreparable harm to those undergoing treatment and shown "some likelihood of success" in arguments that it was unconstitutional.
The ACLU had provided "evidence of risks to minors' health and well-being from gender dysphoria if those treatments can no longer be provided to minors—prolonging of their dysphoria, and causing additional distress and health risks, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidality," Hanlon said. The provisions of the law banning gender-affirming surgeries for minors in Indiana will have no immediate impact. Hanlon wrote in his ruling that no medical providers in the state perform those procedures on people younger than 18. Representatives from Indiana University Health Riley Children's Hospital, the state's sole hospital-based gender health program, told legislators earlier this year that for patients who are minors, doctors don't perform genital surgeries or provide those surgery referrals. IU Health wasn't involved in the ACLU's lawsuit.
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ACLU leaders hailed the ruling as a victory in the fight "to defend the right of all trans people to be their authentic selves, free from discrimination." "We won't rest until this unconstitutional law is struck down for good," Ken Falk, the ACLU of Indiana's legal director, said. GOP state Attorney General Todd Rokita's office said it was disappointed in the decision but that "we will continue to fight for the children." The office didn't say whether it would attempt to appeal the injunction before July 1. At least 20 GOP-led states have now enacted laws restricting or banning such medical treatments for transgender minors. Lawsuits have been filed in several states against transgender treatment bans. Federal judges have also blocked enforcement of laws in Alabama and Arkansas, and Oklahoma has agreed to not enforce its ban while opponents seek a temporary court order blocking it.
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