An appeals court reversed a district court ruling against an Indiana law seeking to ban gender transition procedures for minors, allowing the regulations to come into effect.
While the bill was set to become law in July, in June, a federal district judge blocked portions of the law banning puberty blockers and hormone treatments after a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). It allowed the ban on gender transition surgeries.
The appeals court, composed of a panel of three circuit judges, did not state the reason for lifting the ban.
“An opinion from this court will follow. A judgment in this case will issue with that opinion,” the court order stated. Two of the panel judges were appointed by Republican presidents.
Before the appellate panel, ACLU attorney Kenneth Falk claimed that the ban went against the medical consensus that puberty blockers and hormone therapies are beneficial to minors.
“The statute here bans the care that is widely recognized as essential to treat transgender dysphoric youth,” he said, according to Courthouse News. “Despite the state’s attempt to say that there is an even dispute on each side, this treatment is endorsed by every major medical organization in the United States.”
Indiana Deputy Solicitor General James Barta argued the state has the right to regulate the behavior of medical practitioners and that science was on their side.
“As the district court recognized, children who take hormones for transitioning run a real risk of bone damage, stroke, and infertility,” he said. “Systematic reviews of the scientific literature have found no evidence to support claims of psychological benefits.”
The appeal has the backing of 21 Republican-led states that filed amicus briefs on the issue.
“As we and our clients consider our next steps, we want all the transgender youth of Indiana to know this fight is far from over and we will continue to challenge this law until it is permanently defeated and Indiana is made a safer place to raise every family,” the ACLU stated.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita praised the court decision.
Harmful Transgender Procedures
In addition to banning medical practitioners from directly offering gender treatments to minors, SB 480 also prohibited them from aiding or abetting other individuals providing such services.Mr. Holcomb justified the bill when he signed it into law in April 2023, stating that “permanent gender-changing surgeries with lifelong impacts and medically prescribed preparation for such a transition should occur as an adult, not as a minor.”
Like Indiana, 22 other states have enacted laws limiting or outright banning gender transition procedures for minors: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. Some of these bans are in limbo because of lawsuits.
The bans and lawsuits come as many experts are sounding the alarm about offering gender transition treatments to children.
This month, the American College of Pediatricians issued a statement saying: “There is no long-term evidence that mental health concerns are decreased or alleviated after ‘gender-affirming therapy’ (GAT). Many individuals who have been treated with ‘GAT’ later regret those interventions and seek to align their gender identity with their sex.”
“We urge medical professionals and parents to affirm the truth about childhood gender dysphoria in the presence of harmful thoughts and address the underlying mental illness, adverse events, and family dysfunction,” Dr. Jane Anderson, lead author and vice president of the organization, said.
