A federal judge has struck down an
Arkansas law that prohibited transgender youth from receiving
gender-affirming care.
In his 80-page ruling handed down
Tuesday following an 8-day trial in December, U.S. District Judge
James Moody Jr. wrote that the law was unconstitutional.
According to NPR, witnesses offered by
the state offered no evidence to support their claims that such
treatments, such as puberty blockers and hormones, cause harm to
transgender minors.
"Rather than protecting children
or safeguarding medical ethics, the evidence showed that the
prohibited medical care improves the mental health and well-being of
patients and that, by prohibiting it, the State undermined the
interests it claims to be advancing," Moody wrote. "The
testimony of well-credentialed experts, doctors who provide
gender-affirming medical care in Arkansas, and families that rely on
that care directly refutes any claim by the State that the Act
advances an interest in protecting children."
Lawmakers approved Act 626 in 2021,
making Arkansas the first state in the nation to do so. The American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asked Moody to block the law before it
was set to take effect in 2021, which he did.
In a tweet, Arkansas Attorney General
Tim Griffin, a Republican, said that the state would appeal Moody's
ruling.