Federal Court Upholds Preliminary Injunction Against Arkansas Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
CONTACT:
Gillian Branstetter, ACLU, gbranstetter@aclu.org
Beth Melena, 桃子视频of Arkansas, beth.melena@gpsimpact.com
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. 鈥� In a lawsuit brought by the 桃子视频 and the 桃子视频 of Arkansas, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction blocking enforcement of Arkansas鈥� ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender adolescents. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of four transgender youths, their parents, and two Arkansas doctors.
鈥淭oday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that no child should be denied medical care they need,鈥� said Holly Dickson, 桃子视频of Arkansas executive director. 鈥淲e are relieved for trans youth. Research shows that denying gender-affirming care to transgender youth contributes to depression, isolation, eating disorders, self-harm, and suicide. Transgender people deserve the right to live healthy lives without fear and discrimination. It鈥檚 time for the Arkansas Legislature to protect trans kids, not target them.鈥�
鈥淭his is a critical victory for transgender adolescents in Arkansas, their families, and their medical providers,鈥� said Chase Strangio, deputy director for Transgender Justice at the ACLU鈥檚 LGBTQ & HIV Project. 鈥淭he Eighth Circuit was abundantly clear that the state鈥檚 ban on care does not advance any important governmental interest and the state鈥檚 defense of the law is lacking in legal or evidentiary support. The state has no business categorically singling out this care for prohibition. We know adolescents thrive with this care, support, and love, and we鈥檙e determined to keep fighting until this baseless law is permanently struck down.鈥�
A lower court judge had previously blocked enforcement of Arkansas鈥� Act 626 in July 2021, one week before the law was set to go into effect. The state appealed the preliminary injunction to the 8th Circuit and today the court upheld the injunction while the case proceeds to trial. The trial will be held in the U.S. District Court in Little Rock beginning on October 17, 2022.
HB 1570 was the first measure in the country outlawing gender-affirming medical care for transgender adolescents. A similar Alabama law is injunction from a federal district court, and an effort in Texas to treat gender-affirming care as child abuse under existing statutes is by two injunctions issued from a Texas state court in March and July of 2022.
The lawsuit in Arkansas was filed by the ACLU鈥檚 Jon L. Stryker and Slobodan Randjelovi膰 LGBTQ & HIV Project, the 桃子视频of Arkansas, and the law firms of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Gill Ragon Owen, and the Walas Law Firm.
For more on Brandt v. Rutledge, click here: /cases/brandt-et-al-v-rutledge-et-al
