A three-judge panel on the eighth circuit court of appeals ordered a federal judge’s preliminary injunction to stay in place to stop the state from enforcing the 2021 anti-trans law. The law prohibits medical professionals in the state from offering healthcare such as puberty blockers and hormone treatment to trans youth.
Arkansas was the first state in the US to enact a ban on trans youth accessing gender-affirming healthcare – which researchers have described as ‘life-saving’.
via Pink News
A trial is slated to begin in October before the same judge, and the court will determine whether to permanently block the law.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of four trans kids, their parents and two Arkansas doctors. The court of appeals sided with the plaintiffs who argued there was a “likelihood” that trans youth would face “irreparable harm” if the law went into force.
Chase Strangio, deputy director for Transgender Justice at the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, called the ruling a “critical victory” for trans adolescents in Arkansas, their families and their medical providers.
