Judge strikes down Arkansas ban on transgender treatment for children, calling it unconstitutional



U.S. District Judge Jay Moody struck down a law passed in Arkansas to ban transgender surgeries and other treatments for minors.

The law was passed by the Arkansas legislature in April 2021 after the state Senate overturned a veto by then-Governor Asa Hutchinson, a Republican. It was the first of such laws passed in several states.

Moody said that the law was contrary to the due process clause and equal protection rights of transgender people. He also ruled that a provision in the law forbidding medical professionals from referring patients for treatment elsewhere was in violation of free speech rights.

"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," wrote Moody in the ruling.

The law would have banned puberty blockers and surgery for children.

Transgender activists were closely watching the legal battle over the law in Arkansas as a bellwether for other efforts to ban child transgender treatments in conservative leaning states.

Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin said the state would be appealing the ruling to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

"I am disappointed in the decision that prevents our state from protecting our children against dangerous medical experimentation under the moniker of ‘gender transition,’" said Griffin in a statement.

"Unfortunately, Judge Moody misses what is widely understood across the United States and in the United Kingdom and European countries: There is no scientific evidence that any child will benefit from these procedures, while the consequences are harmful and often permanent," he added. "I will continue fighting as long as it takes to stop providers from sterilizing children."

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders also criticized the ruling.

"Only in the far-Left’s woke vision of America is it not appropriate to protect children," she tweeted. "We will fight this and the Attorney General plans to appeal Judge Moody’s decision to the Eighth Circuit."

The issue is likely to grow in prominence as the 2024 election approaches. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has issued statements unapologetically in support of transgender rights while most Republicans support legal restrictions on transgender operations and treatments for children.

Here's more about the judgement against the law:

Arkansas judge overturns ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors www.youtube.com

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Asa Hutchinson defends veto: Says doctors know better than elected representatives on transgender issues



Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson went on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Tuesday evening to defend his veto of a bill that would ban sex-change hormone prescriptions or mutilating surgery for minors.

During the contentious interview with a confrontational Tucker Carlson on Fox News, the governor attempted to portray his position as principled limited-government conservatism, arguing that elected representatives "do not necessarily make the right judgements" for people compared to credentialed doctors or counselors who may support sex-reassignment for transgender youths.

"Do you want to listen to the medical profession? Do you want to listen to professional counselors? Do you want to listen to parents?" Hutchinson asked rhetorically. "Or do you want to leave all these decision to the legislators that come from all different kinds of backgrounds — yes, they are elected to represent you, but they do not necessarily make the right judgements for parents and for doctors in the most sensitive issues."

On Tuesday, the Arkansas legislature overrode Hutchinson's veto of a bill banning transgender surgeries, hormone prescriptions, and puberty blockers for people under age 18, becoming the first state in the nation to enact such a ban into law. The new law also prevents transgender individuals under age 18 from being referred to other medical providers for so-called gender-affirming treatment. Governor Hutchinson, who has an indisputable pro-life record in Arkansas, surprised and angered many social conservatives including Carlson with his veto.

"I think of you as a conservative. Here you have come out publicly as pro-choice on the question of chemical castration of children. What changed?" Carlson asked at the opening of the interview.

Hutchinson retorted that Carlson did not accurately represent the bill, which he called "over-broad" and "extreme."

"If this had been a bill that simply prohibited chemical castration, I would have signed the bill," said Hutchinson.

He added that he also would have signed a bill that was limited to banning sex-reassignment surgery for minors, though no such surgeries are currently performed in Arkansas.

"This is the first law in the nation that invokes the state between medical decisions, parents who consent to that and the decision of the patient. And so, this goes way too far. And in fact, it doesn't even have a grandfather clause that those young people that are under hormonal treatment," Hutchinson argued, noting that there are fewer than 200 minors in Arkansas currently receiving hormone treatments.

The governor said he consulted with doctors and transgender people as well as faith leaders before coming to his decision to veto the legislation. Noting that gender-dysphoric kids are at higher risk for depression and suicide, Hutchinson said, "I don't think we should deny them health care."

Carlson countered by citing preliminary research from the U.K. that, while not conclusive, found that minors who took puberty blockers later reported attempting self-harm or suicide at higher rates.

"Why is that responsible medicine, to do that to children? Why would you support something like that?" Carlson asked.

In response, Hutchinson referred Carlson to the American Academy of Pediatrics and to physicians who opposed the bill, citing their arguments that denying social gender transition or hormone blocking agents to transgender youth could "endanger these young people even further."

He also argued that conservatives should embrace a limited role for government in medical decisions.

"Let me emphasize, Tucker. You are a conservative, you have a great background in that. Where are we getting back to the limited role of government, that we don't have to invoke ourselves in every societal position out there? Let's limit the role of government, let's let parents and doctors make decisions," he said.

To which Carlson replied, "Then why don't we allow 18-year-olds to drink beer in Arkansas? Why don't we allow them to get tattoos? Why don't we allow 15-year-olds to get married?"

He continued: "You vetoed a bill that would've protected children — not adults, children, to whom a different standard applies — from a life-altering, permanent procedure that has effects we can only guess at. ... They're not old enough to have sex, but they're old enough to be chemically castrated? How does that work exactly?"

In answer, Hutchinson made the argument that elected representatives lack the medical expertise to make the right judgement for parents and doctors.

"Then why are we regulating the behavior of children at all!?" exclaimed Carlson.

"Whether it's beer for minors, these are all issues that you have to address [in] the legislature, you make judgement calls on it," Hutchinson responded. "But we also try to restrain ourselves, as conservatives, so that we don't have to be involved in every issue. And if you want to broaden the party, if you want to get back to the principles, then let's at least think through — in a reasoned way — as to whether this is the right bill to interfere with parents and doctors' decisions on a health care matter."

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