A federal appeals court has allowed Arkansas to enforce a law that stops doctors from giving gender transition medical treatments to people under 18. This decision reverses a lower court’s ruling that had blocked the law.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 8-2 in favor of the ban, pointing to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld a similar law in Tennessee. The court said the Arkansas law does not violate the U.S. Constitution or discriminate against transgender minors.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, a Republican, praised the decision. “I’m pleased that children in Arkansas will be protected from experimental procedures,” he said. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders also celebrated the ruling, calling it “a win for common sense — and for our kids.”
Arkansas passed the law in 2021, becoming the first state to ban treatments like puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender transition surgeries for minors. The legislature passed it despite a veto from then-Governor Asa Hutchinson.
Four families of transgender children and two doctors challenged the law, saying it violated parents’ rights to make medical decisions for their kids. In 2023, U.S. District Judge Jay Moody agreed with them and said the law could cause serious harm to transgender youth. However, Judge Duane Benton of the appeals court disagreed, writing that parents do not have the right to seek medical treatments for their children if those treatments are banned by the state.
Not all judges agreed. Judge Jane Kelly, in her dissent, said there was little evidence that the ban actually protects children.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arkansas criticized the ruling, calling it harmful to transgender youth and their families. ACLU Director Holly Dickson said the law “harms children” and promised to keep fighting for their right to access medical care.
Last week, another federal court upheld a similar law in Oklahoma, also relying on the Supreme Court’s Tennessee decision.
