On June 20, U.S. District Court Judge James M. Moody Jr. invalidated Arkansas’ ban on gender-affirming treatment for transgender youth.
Moody said that the state’s “Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act” violated the U.S. Constitution and that state officials cannot enforce the 2021 statute, according to CNN.
Under the law, young people would have not been able to access puberty blockers—a treatment option for trans youth that is used to prevent the onset of puberty. The statute also barred so-called cross-hormone therapy, which allows trans people to alter their physical appearances to be more consistent with their gender identities.
When Arkansas enacted the law in 2021, it became the first state to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth. Republican Asa Hutchinson—a current presidential candidate who was the governor at that time—had initially vetoed the measure, but state legislators later overrode his veto.
In a statement, ACLU of Arkansas Executive Director Holly Dickson said, “This decision sends a clear message. Fear-mongering and misinformation about this health care do not hold up to scrutiny; it hurts trans youth and must end. Science, medicine, and law are clear: gender-affirming care is necessary to ensure these young Arkansans can thrive and be healthy.”
ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project Deputy Director for Transgender Justice Chase Strangio added, “In state after state, transgender people are being forced to fight for our most basic rights, including access to the health care many of us need to live. This victory shows that these laws, when tested by evidence, are indefensible under any standard of constitutional review. We hope that this sends a message to other states about the vulnerability of these laws and the many harms that come from passing them.”
Arkansas plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.
—Andrew Davis