The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky filed suit against the ban on gender-affirming care included in Kentucky’s Senate Bill 150 after the legislature overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto seeking to block the bill.
The ACLU plans on seeking a preliminary injunction in Kentucky in the coming weeks.
Seven unnamed — transgender families filed under pseudonyms for safety — plaintiffs filed suit 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.
The other portions of the law that prohibits schools from teaching sexual orientation or gender identity in classrooms and forcing transgender students to use the bathroom that aligns with their biological sex, and allowing teachers to deadname transgender children are not included in the lawsuit.
“These laws violate one of the most deep-seated principles of our Constitution, which is that parents, parents, not the government, should make medical decisions for their own children,” Shapiro said.
“Under the Constitution, trans youth in Kentucky have the right to medically necessary care. We are filing litigation today to protect against this imminent threat to their well-being and make certain they can thrive by continuing to receive medical care,” Shapiro said. “We look forward to ensuring health care providers can continue to provide transgender Kentuckians with health care consistent with the standards of medicine adopted by leading medical authorities, not radical politicians.”
Before Beshear issued his veto, he said the bill tears at the fabric of allowing parents to make decisions for their children’s health.
“I believe Senate Bill 150 tears away the freedom of parents to make important and difficult medical decisions for their kids,” Beshear said during his Thursday press conference.
Shannon Minter, the legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said that courts across the country have prevented these medical bans from taking effect because they’re so harmful.
“These laws violate one of the most deep-seated principles of our Constitution, which is that parents, parents, not the government, should make medical decisions for their own children,”
After the veto, In a statement, Republican Party of Kentucky spokesperson Sean Southard said Beshear is a “radical” and is giving in to “special left-wing interests.”
“Most people agree that you need to be a certain age before participating in certain activities, like consuming alcohol or smoking cigarettes,” RPK spokesman Sean Southard said. “Not Andy Beshear. Andy Beshear thinks it’s okay for children to have access to life-altering sex change surgery and drugs before they turn 18.”
The legislature then overrode the governor’s veto, despite large numbers protesting at the Kentucky Capitol. The protests extended into the House chambers, where 19 protestors were arrested.
Shapiro said the ultimate goal of the lawsuit is to allow Kentucky families to raise their children the way they want in consultation with their doctors.
With this portion of the law going into effect on June 29 — the education portions went into effect right away due to an emergency clause in the bill — families are faced with the burden of whether or not to pursue this healthcare outside of the state.
“These are hard choices, and not everybody has the ability to go to another state to seek the health care that they need,” Shapiro said.