A federal appeals court has reinstated an Arkansas law banning transgender procedures for individuals younger than 18 years of age.
On Aug. 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit voted 8–2 to overturn a lower court ruling that held the law was unconstitutional. The circuit court found the law does not discriminate on the basis of sex.
The statute defined the referral of minors for those procedures as “unprofessional conduct ... subject to discipline by the appropriate licensing entity or disciplinary review board,” and empowered the state attorney general to enforce compliance, according to the opinion. The measure became law over the veto of then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican.
Four minors, their parents, and two health care professionals had sued to prevent the Arkansas attorney general and the Arkansas State Medical Board from enforcing the law. They argued that the state law unconstitutionally classified patients on the basis of sex.
U.S. District Judge James Moody issued a permanent injunction blocking enforcement of the law, finding that the statute ran afoul of the First Amendment and the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause and due process clause, the opinion said.
The Eighth Circuit concluded that Moody’s ruling was not consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 18 ruling in United States v. Skrmetti.
“Because the district court rested its permanent injunction on incorrect conclusions of law, it abused its discretion,” the Eighth Circuit opinion reads.
“I applaud the court’s decision recognizing that Arkansas has a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological health of children and am pleased that children in Arkansas will be protected from risky, experimental procedures with lifelong consequences,” he said in a statement.
“This is a tragically unjust result for transgender Arkansans, their doctors, and their families,” Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, said in a statement. “The state had every opportunity and failed at every turn to prove that this law helps children; in fact, this is a dangerous law that harms children.”
Arkansas State Rep. Robin Lundstrum, a sponsor of the state legislation, said she was “thrilled” with the Eighth Circuit’s ruling.
“Your doctor has to give you the best medical advice,” Lundstrum told The Epoch Times.
Counseling a minor to receive transgender procedures “is not the best medical advice.”
“Any child under 18 is not capable of understanding, nor are they capable of giving, consent,” she said.
The new ruling is consistent with the Supreme Court’s Skrmetti opinion and will protect the health of minors, Lundstrum stated.
She said she had met several patients who regretted having the procedures. “They are having incredible amounts of cardiovascular disease, cerebral vascular disease—osteoporosis is huge.”
