The parts of a new law set to take effect this week that bans gender-affirming care for children are blocked, at least for now, after a U.S. District Judge issued an injunction Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge David Hale issued the injunction — which blocks the law until it can play out in court — in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, known as the ACLU, which filed suit in May.
“The Court finds that the treatments barred by SB 150 are medically appropriate and necessary for some transgender children under the evidence-based standard of care accepted by all major medical organizations in the United States,” Hale wrote in his ruling.
The ban would have prevented children from accessing gender-affirming care, such as hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and gender-affirming surgery.
“These drugs have a long history of safe use in minors for various conditions,” Hale wrote.” “It is undisputed that puberty-blockers and hormones are not given to prepubertal children with gender dysphoria.”
Gender dysphoria is when transgender people experience “psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity,” according to the American Psychiatric Association.
Not all transgender people experience gender dysphoria, but drugs and transitioning often help them alleviate the symptoms.
On Thursday at midnight, those parts of Senate Bill 150 — the omnibus bill that bans gender-affirming care for children —were scheduled to take effect.
The law contains parts pertaining to schools, but those took effect immediately due to an emergency clause in the bill.
This means families and children seeking access to hormone therapy, puberty blockers, or gender-affirming surgery will continue to have access to this care while the case is litigated.
The ACLU’s lawsuit applies explicitly to the medical care portion of the bill.
Seven unnamed families with transgender children filed under pseudonyms for safety are the plaintiffs in a suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky to block the portion of SB150 that bans children under the age of 18 from receiving gender-affirming care, such as the ban on puberty blockers, gender-affirming surgery or hormones.
“Our complaint challenges section four of Senate Bill 150, which is a section of the law that applies to essential medical care for transgender children,” said Corey Shapiro, legal director for the ACLU of Kentucky.
Under the new law, medical providers will lose their medical licenses if they provide the care. The law also has a 30-year statute of limitations, meaning that if somebody wants to, they could sue a doctor for up to 30 years after the procedure.
In a statement, Attorney General Daniel Cameron — also the Republican nominee for governor — said that the law “protects children from the irreversible effects of experimental chemical treatments like puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.”
Cameron said that the procedures aren’t based on science — something those in the trans community say is misinformation as the procedures very rarely happen, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health guidelines state that patients must be at least 16 years of age.
He further said that the treatments for gender dysphoria threaten the safety of minors and have irreversible life-long consequences on children’s health.
“Today’s misguided decision by a federal judge tramples the right of the General Assembly to make public policy for the Commonwealth,” Cameron said. “Senate Bill 150 is a commonsense law that protects Kentucky children from unnecessary medical experimentation with powerful drugs and hormone treatments.”
