Not All Judges: Wins For Gender-Affirming Care

By Jen Maravegias | Politics | June 22, 2023 |

By Jen Maravegias | Politics | June 22, 2023 |

We spend a lot of time railing against the hateful and unjust laws being passed that block gender-affirming care across the country. We highlight corporations that fail at allyship and fart in the general direction of Hollywood folks whose hate should be highlighted when they broadcast it to the world.

But recently there have been some courtroom wins for gender-affirming care and those should be celebrated.

In May, a federal judge issued an injunction against Alabama’s felony ban on the prescription of puberty-blocking medication or hormone treatment for transgender youth under 19. Organizations against that ban argued that it violates the 1st and 14th Amendments. U.S. District Judge Liles Burke (a Trump appointee) found that plaintiffs in that lawsuit are likely to win their case when he issued the injunction.

Parent Plaintiffs are substantially likely to show that they have a fundamental right to treat their children with transitioning medications subject to medically accepted standards and that the Act infringes on that right…The Act prevents Parent Plaintiffs from choosing that course of treatment for their children by criminalizing the use of transitioning medications to treat gender dysphoria in minors, even at the independent recommendation of a licensed pediatrician.

Judge Burke also found that the state failed to prove that the medications in question are experimental or harmful. Science wins!

More recently, in Arkansas, another federal judge struck down a law to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth on constitutional grounds. The court found that the nation’s first ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender minors violated the Equal Protection Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, permanently banning the state from acting on it.

In its findings, the court cited a number of medical professionals and associations who support gender-affirming care for proven scientific reasons. This is a breath of fresh air considering how many lawmakers are running states on hate vibes couched in quasi-religious nonsense. High fives to Judge James M. Moody Jr.

…the Court hereby orders that Defendant Tim Griffin, in his official capacity as Attorney General of the State of Arkansas, and all those acting in concert with him, including employees, agents, successors in office, and the members of the Arkansas State Medical Board are permanently enjoined from enforcing House Bill 1570, Act 626 of the 93rd General Assembly of Arkansas…

Earlier this month, in Ron DeSantis’ hellscape of a state, Federal Judge Robert Hinkle, temporarily blocked parts of a new law banning transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers. In his decision, Hinkle is quoted as saying “Gender identity is real.” He said the thing! Outloud. It’s part of the record now!

The ruling has a very narrow focus, it only applies to three children whose parents brought the lawsuit against the state. There’s hope though. Judge Hinkle’s 2014 injunction against Florida’s same-sex marriage ban only applied to the one couple who filed that lawsuit, but it probably had a lot to do with same-sex marriage being legal there since 2015. Of course, the landscape is completely different now and the state is fighting back harder against this ruling, referring to “rogue elements in the medical establishment that push ideology over evidence,” which is actually the reverse of what’s happening. And I would very much like to rub the Arkansas and Alabama decisions in the faces of Ron DeSantis and his press secretary, Jeremy Redfern. Twerps.

Last week The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana won a preliminary injunction against a ban on Indiana physicians from providing gender-affirming care to minors that was set to go into effect on July 1st. U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon (another Trump appointee) also blocked provisions that would prohibit Indiana doctors from communicating with out-of-state doctors about gender-affirming care for their patients younger than 18.

The ACLU of Indiana celebrated this win with a press release that read, in part:

Today’s victory is a testament to the trans youth of Indiana, their families and their allies, who never gave up the fight to protect access to gender-affirming care and who will continue to defend the right of all trans people to be their authentic self, free from discrimination.

Even though it seems that we’re drowning in hate this year, good LGBTQ+ allies continue to push back against the rising tide of anti-trans rhetoric.

Brandon Presley, the Democratic candidate for Mississippi governor, recently took a hardline stance in favor of trusting families to make healthcare decisions, including those that involve gender-affirming care, for their children.

I trust families, I trust mamas and I trust daddies to deal with the health care of their children first and foremost, period…

Mississippi has been known to swing Blue for gubernatorial elections so it’s not entirely out of the question that Mississippi could elect a pro-Trans governor in November of this year.

And finally, in wrestling news, which is not a sentence I ever thought I’d write, All Elite Wrestling’s CM Punk went viral yesterday for the best reason possible. Speaking out for the protection of LGBTQ+ kids.

welcome back @CMPunk

i love pro wrestling https://t.co/40R75Xv4Bb pic.twitter.com/O2okuDGhWl

— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) June 18, 2023

That’s how you do it, people.