Ky., Tenn. Block Bans on Transgender Care for Minors

Facts

• On Wednesday, federal judges in Kentucky and Tennessee issued rulings temporarily blocking laws that ban gender transition care for minors, days before they were set to take effect.¹
• In both cases, laws banning transgender youth from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapies were deemed unconstitutional.²
• In Tennessee, US District Judge Eli Richardson didn’t block the ban on sex reassignment surgeries for minors, saying the ruling aligned with recent federal decisions that similarly blocked bans on this type of care.²
• In Kentucky, US District Judge David Hale based some of his rulings on puberty blockers and hormones having “a long history of safe use in minors for various conditions.”³
• Hale’s ruling didn’t address surgery because it wasn’t part of the dispute.⁴
• At least 21 states have passed bans or restrictions on sex reassignment care, and there have been lawsuits challenging most of those laws. Judges in Indiana and Alabama recently partially blocked those states’ bans.⁴

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²Associated Press, ³The Hill, and ⁴Forbes.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by Washington Free Beacon. These bans on sex reassignment treatments for minors are necessary to protect children’s health and well-being, and the blocks by these judges are dangerous. Puberty blockers and hormone therapies can cause long-term physical issues and fertility problems, and should never be given to minors under any circumstances.
• Left narrative, as provided by The New Republic. These bans violate the privacy rights of these children and their families and unconscionably deny the minors from receiving necessary medical care. Every judge who looks at the facts of these cases, and the evidence in support of these treatments as crucial for children’s mental health, must block the bans from taking effect.