BISMARCK, North Dakota — BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota judge has upheld the state's ban on gender affirming child care, It's a blow to families who have had to travel out of state to get medical care they say is critical to their children's well-being.
District Judge Jackson Lofgren said in his decision Wednesday that the law discriminates based on age and medical conditions, not gender, and that there is little evidence that the Legislature passed the law with an “offensive discriminatory purpose.” He also noted various concerns and ongoing debates about the medical treatments being used.
“The evidence presented at trial establishes that there are legitimate concerns about the ability of minors to understand and appreciate the long-term consequences of actions prohibited by the Health Care Act,” the judge wrote, adding that he did not believe the law violated the state constitution.
The ruling applies to parents who choose to seek gender-affirming health care for their children after a state ban. took effect April 2023 will have to do it out of state.
“This decision is devastating for transgender youth and their families in North Dakota. The evidence in this case was overwhelming: this law causes real harm, deprives families of their constitutional rights, and deprives young people of the health care they need to thrive,” Jess Braverman, legal director of the gender equality nonprofit Gender Justice, which represented, said in a statement. plaintiff.
Republican Rep. Bill Tveit, who introduced the bill, said he was pleased with the decision.
“This is the law that needs to be there. We need to protect our young people, and that's the whole point of all of this to begin with,” Tveit said.
Lawsuit was brought several affected families and a pediatric endocrinologist, but the judge dismissed some of their claims and retained only the doctor as a plaintiff.
About half of US states, almost all of which have entirely Republican-led governments, have banned gender-affirming care for minors. North Dakota law makes it an offense for a health care professional to prescribe or give hormone treatment or puberty blockers to a transgender child. It also makes it a criminal offense to perform gender confirmation surgery on a minor.
Supporters of the law said it would protect children from what they say are the permanent effects of treatments and surgeries, even though such surgeries have never been available in the state. Opponents say the law harms transgender children by denying them important health care.
Although the law exempts children who were already receiving treatment before North Dakota's ban took effect, attorneys for the families who filed the lawsuit said that providers abstain because they thought the law was vague and didn't want to take any chances. This has resulted in families missing work and school to travel to Minnesota for treatment.
The judge later said these children can receive any medical care they received before the law took effect, although this decision was not enough to satisfy the health care organizations' lawyers. His ruling Wednesday granted a request to continue treatment for those children, citing the law and his previous findings.
Before the ban, North Dakota had at least two pediatric endocrinologists providing gender-affirming care.
US Supreme Court ruled in June that states could ban gender-affirming health care for transgender minors.
minimum 27 states passed laws restriction or prohibition of care.
