Judge temporarily blocks Kentucky’s ban on gender-affirming care for youth

By Joe Sutton, CNN

(CNN) — A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked Kentucky Senate Bill 150, which would have prohibited transgender minors from receiving several forms of gender-affirming care. The ruling stops the law from taking effect while other courts hear challenges to the law.

“Based on the evidence submitted, the court finds that the treatments barred by SB 150 are medically appropriate and necessary for some transgender children… These drugs have a long history of safe use in minors for various conditions,” US District Judge David J. Hale said in his ruling.

The law banned healthcare providers from prescribing treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapy to most minors. The law also barred gender-affirming surgeries on minors who have not been diagnosed with an intersex condition.

The plaintiffs in the case were seven transgender minors and their parents who sued the state over the law arguing that it violated the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Senate Bill 150 called for healthcare providers to end treatment for patients already receiving puberty blockers or hormone therapy. The bill also aimed to prevent schools from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students of any age and allowed educators to refuse to refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns.

CNN previously reported that Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear had vetoed the bill back in March but it was overridden by Republican lawmakers.

“Senate Bill 150 allows too much government interference in personal healthcare issues and rips away the freedom of parents to make medical decisions for their children,” the governor said in the statement in March.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron called the court’s decision “misguided” in a statement on Twitter. He was among the defendants named in the suit seeking to block the law from taking effect.

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