U.S. judge blocks Arkansas ban on gender-transition treatments for
children
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[July 22, 2021]
By Dan Whitcomb
(Reuters) -A federal judge on Wednesday
barred the state of Arkansas, at least for now, from enforcing a
first-in-the-nation law that would ban doctors from providing puberty
blockers, cross-sex hormones or gender transition surgeries to minors.
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U.S. District Judge James Moody issued the temporary injunction in
response to a legal challenge filed by the Arkansas chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union. The law was set to take effect July
28.
"This ruling sends a clear message to states across the country that
gender-affirming care is life-saving care, and we won’t let
politicians in Arkansas — or anywhere else — take it away," Holly
Dickson, executive director of ACLU of Arkansas, said in a written
statement.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said she would appeal the
decision to a higher court. State lawmakers in April overrode a veto
by Governor Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson to pass the measure,
known as HB1570.
"This evidence-based law was created because we cannot allow
children as young as 9 years old to receive experimental procedures
that have irreversible, physical consequences,” Rutledge said in a
statement.
Arkansas was the first U.S. state to ban certain gender-transition
treatments to minors. The transgender rights movement is growing,
and states are reconsidering affected policies including about
bathroom access and sports participation.
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In West Virginia on Wednesday, a federal judge
ruled that an 11-year-old transgender girl could
compete in girls athletics, writing that a state
law passed in April violated her rights to equal
treatment under the U.S. Constitution.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin issued his
decision in a legal challenge filed by the ACLU.
Although the ruling was narrowly tailored to
apply only to the plaintiff, Becky
Pepper-Jackson, the judge indicated that he
found the law discriminatory against all
transgender youth.
Attorneys for the state had argued
Pepper-Jackson had innate physical advantages
that were unfair to the middle-school girls
against whom she competed.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los
AngelesAdditional reporting by Maria Caspani in
New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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