Judge Blocks Indiana’s Ban on Puberty Blockers and Hormones

metroweekly.com:

similar law passed in Arizona last year that bans gender-affirming surgeries for minors — which is less severe than bans on all types of gender-affirming care that have passed in 18 other states over the past two years.The lawsuit challenging the law, signed by Gov.

Eric Holcomb in April, was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of four transgender youth and their families, a physician who specializes in gender-affirming care, and a health care clinic offering itself out to individuals suffering from gender dysphoria, a condition where a person’s anatomy does not match the gender by which they identify. “Because Plaintiffs have some likelihood of success on the merits of constitutional claims, a preliminary injunction is in the public interest,” Hanlon wrote in his ruling. “While the State has a strong interest in enforcing democratically enacted laws, that interest decreases as Plaintiffs’ likelihood of success on the merits of their constitutional claims increases.”Hanlon also found that, without the injunction, the youth plaintiffs could suffer “irreparable harm” due to being unable to access gender-affirming treatments, reports CNN.

In the case of the physician and clinic, without an injunction, either or both could be subject to disciplinary measures or the loss of their license to practice medicine if found to have prescribed gender-affirming treatments to minor patients — despite obtaining permission from their parents to treat them.Indiana’s ban on gender-affirming care — as well as similar bans passed in other states — is part of a larger trend among Republican-dominated states to restrict freedoms for transgender people in the hope of discouraging individuals from transitioning or identifying.