A state legislation that prohibits minors from obtaining care that is gender affirming can be enforced in Idaho, according to BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun).
A federal court injunction prevented Idaho from implementing the state law for all Idaho students for a few months in early 2024. However, the U.S. Supreme Court reduced the judicial ban in April 2024 to just apply to children who filed lawsuits over the statute.
According to the Idaho Attorney General’s Office, the lawsuit was dismissed on June 18, ending judicial impediments and enabling Idaho to execute the statute.
Attorney General Ra l Labrador of Idaho said in a statement that no one has the right to hurt children. My office spent two years advocating for Idaho’s commonsense law that shields children from experimental procedures that have irrevocable, permanent effects.
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According to the ACLU of Idaho, the lawsuit was dropped because the transgender minors who were sued had moved out of state.
According to the Tennessee Lookout, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a similar state legislation in Tennessee on the same day that Idaho’s lawsuit was dismissed, holding that minors who seek treatment do not fall within a protected class.
According to a statement from Jenna Damron, an advocacy fellow with the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, Idaho has achieved its goal of expelling transgender individuals who do not wish to put up with the needless animosity directed at them. I’m not surprised by this decision, though I wish I could say that. Nevertheless, I want all trans children to know that they are cherished. You deserve it. And regardless of what this court decides, we will continue to battle for you.
Puberty blockers, hormones, and surgical procedures are prohibited for Idaho minors seeking gender-affirming care under a law passed in 2023. However, the law does not forbid any form of gender-affirming care for youngsters, including speech therapy, hair removal, mental health therapies, and period suppression. The Idaho Capital Sun was formerly informed by Idaho doctors.
Physicians may be charged with felonies if they break Idaho law. As previously reported by the Sun, Idaho was already not performing surgeries on minors.
Idaho was represented in the case by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a well-known conservative Christian legal practice. In 2023, Labrador and the law company signed a contract that gave the firm the right to represent Idaho in court for free.
The ACLU of Idaho said it is still pursuing other legal actions to defend trans rights, such as contesting Idaho’s statute that forbids trans children from playing on teams of the same gender in sports and Idaho’s prohibition on the use of public funds for care that is gender affirming, even in correctional facilities.
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