Trans youth and their allies rally in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 6, 2022.
'Victory!': Federal Judge Strikes Down Arkansas Gender-Affirming Care Ban
"This decision sends a clear message," said the head of the Arkansas ACLU. "Fearmongering and misinformation about this healthcare do not hold up to scrutiny; it hurts trans youth and must end."
Human rights defenders on Tuesday welcomed a ruling by a federal judge in Arkansas overturning that state's law banning gender-affirming healthcare for children and teenagers, the first time such a prohibition has been struck down in the United States.
"I'm so grateful the judge heard my experience of how this healthcare has changed my life for the better and saw the dangerous impact this law could have on my life and that of countless other transgender people," Dylan Brandt, the 17-year-old lead plaintiff in the case, said in a statement published by the ACLU of Arkansas.
The civil liberties group filed the lawsuit on behalf of four trans youth, their families, and two doctors in response to Arkansas' 2021 gender-affirming healthcare ban—the first such law passed in the United States.
"My mom and I wanted to fight this law not just to protect my healthcare, but also to ensure that transgender people like me can safely and fully live our truths," Brandt added. "Transgender kids across the country are having their own futures threatened by laws like this one, and it's up to all of us to speak out, fight back, and give them hope."
ACLU of Arkansas executive director Holly Dickson said: "This decision sends a clear message. Fearmongering and misinformation about this healthcare 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," Dickson added.
Lacey Jennen, a plaintiff in the case, tweeted, "To say we are relieved is an understatement."
Judge James M. Moody Jr. of Federal District Court in Little Rock—a nominee of former President Barack Obama—wrote in his 80-page ruling in Brandt v. Rutledge that Arkansas' law discriminated against transgender people and violated doctors' constitutional rights. Then-Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, vetoed the bill after its approval by the GOP-controlled Legislature; however, lawmakers subsequently overrode the veto.
Moody also found that Arkansas officials had failed to substantially prove claims, including that gender-affirming healthcare is carelessly prescribed to youth and is "experimental."
"Rather than protecting children or safeguarding medical ethics, 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 wrote.
"Further, the various claims underlying the state's arguments that the act protects children and safeguards medical ethics do not explain why only gender-affirming medical care—and all gender-affirming medical care—is singled out for prohibition," the judge added. "The testimony of well-credentialed experts, doctors who provide gender-affirming medical care in Arkansas, and families that rely on that care directly refutes any claim by the state that the act advances an interest in protecting children."
At least 19 other states have passed legislation limiting or banning gender-affirming care for minors, with federal judges temporarily blocking similar laws in Alabama, Indiana, and Florida.
According to the website Trans Legislation Tracker, 558 anti-trans bills have been introduced in 49 states so far this year. Eighty-two of the proposals have been signed into law.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Human rights defenders on Tuesday welcomed a ruling by a federal judge in Arkansas overturning that state's law banning gender-affirming healthcare for children and teenagers, the first time such a prohibition has been struck down in the United States.
"I'm so grateful the judge heard my experience of how this healthcare has changed my life for the better and saw the dangerous impact this law could have on my life and that of countless other transgender people," Dylan Brandt, the 17-year-old lead plaintiff in the case, said in a statement published by the ACLU of Arkansas.
The civil liberties group filed the lawsuit on behalf of four trans youth, their families, and two doctors in response to Arkansas' 2021 gender-affirming healthcare ban—the first such law passed in the United States.
"My mom and I wanted to fight this law not just to protect my healthcare, but also to ensure that transgender people like me can safely and fully live our truths," Brandt added. "Transgender kids across the country are having their own futures threatened by laws like this one, and it's up to all of us to speak out, fight back, and give them hope."
ACLU of Arkansas executive director Holly Dickson said: "This decision sends a clear message. Fearmongering and misinformation about this healthcare 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," Dickson added.
Lacey Jennen, a plaintiff in the case, tweeted, "To say we are relieved is an understatement."
Judge James M. Moody Jr. of Federal District Court in Little Rock—a nominee of former President Barack Obama—wrote in his 80-page ruling in Brandt v. Rutledge that Arkansas' law discriminated against transgender people and violated doctors' constitutional rights. Then-Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, vetoed the bill after its approval by the GOP-controlled Legislature; however, lawmakers subsequently overrode the veto.
Moody also found that Arkansas officials had failed to substantially prove claims, including that gender-affirming healthcare is carelessly prescribed to youth and is "experimental."
"Rather than protecting children or safeguarding medical ethics, 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 wrote.
"Further, the various claims underlying the state's arguments that the act protects children and safeguards medical ethics do not explain why only gender-affirming medical care—and all gender-affirming medical care—is singled out for prohibition," the judge added. "The testimony of well-credentialed experts, doctors who provide gender-affirming medical care in Arkansas, and families that rely on that care directly refutes any claim by the state that the act advances an interest in protecting children."
At least 19 other states have passed legislation limiting or banning gender-affirming care for minors, with federal judges temporarily blocking similar laws in Alabama, Indiana, and Florida.
According to the website Trans Legislation Tracker, 558 anti-trans bills have been introduced in 49 states so far this year. Eighty-two of the proposals have been signed into law.
- Analysis Finds State Legislators Proposed 306 Bills Targeting Trans People in Past 2 Years ›
- 'Heartbreaking': Trump-Appointed Judges Allow Alabama Transgender Care Ban to Take Effect ›
Human rights defenders on Tuesday welcomed a ruling by a federal judge in Arkansas overturning that state's law banning gender-affirming healthcare for children and teenagers, the first time such a prohibition has been struck down in the United States.
"I'm so grateful the judge heard my experience of how this healthcare has changed my life for the better and saw the dangerous impact this law could have on my life and that of countless other transgender people," Dylan Brandt, the 17-year-old lead plaintiff in the case, said in a statement published by the ACLU of Arkansas.
The civil liberties group filed the lawsuit on behalf of four trans youth, their families, and two doctors in response to Arkansas' 2021 gender-affirming healthcare ban—the first such law passed in the United States.
"My mom and I wanted to fight this law not just to protect my healthcare, but also to ensure that transgender people like me can safely and fully live our truths," Brandt added. "Transgender kids across the country are having their own futures threatened by laws like this one, and it's up to all of us to speak out, fight back, and give them hope."
ACLU of Arkansas executive director Holly Dickson said: "This decision sends a clear message. Fearmongering and misinformation about this healthcare 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," Dickson added.
Lacey Jennen, a plaintiff in the case, tweeted, "To say we are relieved is an understatement."
Judge James M. Moody Jr. of Federal District Court in Little Rock—a nominee of former President Barack Obama—wrote in his 80-page ruling in Brandt v. Rutledge that Arkansas' law discriminated against transgender people and violated doctors' constitutional rights. Then-Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, vetoed the bill after its approval by the GOP-controlled Legislature; however, lawmakers subsequently overrode the veto.
Moody also found that Arkansas officials had failed to substantially prove claims, including that gender-affirming healthcare is carelessly prescribed to youth and is "experimental."
"Rather than protecting children or safeguarding medical ethics, 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 wrote.
"Further, the various claims underlying the state's arguments that the act protects children and safeguards medical ethics do not explain why only gender-affirming medical care—and all gender-affirming medical care—is singled out for prohibition," the judge added. "The testimony of well-credentialed experts, doctors who provide gender-affirming medical care in Arkansas, and families that rely on that care directly refutes any claim by the state that the act advances an interest in protecting children."
At least 19 other states have passed legislation limiting or banning gender-affirming care for minors, with federal judges temporarily blocking similar laws in Alabama, Indiana, and Florida.
According to the website Trans Legislation Tracker, 558 anti-trans bills have been introduced in 49 states so far this year. Eighty-two of the proposals have been signed into law.
- Analysis Finds State Legislators Proposed 306 Bills Targeting Trans People in Past 2 Years ›
- 'Heartbreaking': Trump-Appointed Judges Allow Alabama Transgender Care Ban to Take Effect ›