US Judge Halts Georgia’s Prohibition on Medical Treatment for Transgender Youth
A U.S. judge has blocked a law in Georgia that prohibited doctors from providing hormone replacement therapy to transgender children under the age of 18. The judge ruled that the law violated the U.S. Constitution and placed an unequal burden on transgender minors. This is the latest instance of a federal judge blocking laws that restrict medical procedures for transgender youth. The state of Georgia plans to appeal the decision. The law also prohibits gender-affirming surgeries for minors, but that provision was not part of the case before the judge. The plaintiffs argued that the ban on hormone therapy violated a minor’s rights under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. The judge agreed, stating that the ban amounted to unconstitutional sex discrimination. The state’s argument that the ban was justified by the risk of regret was deemed unsupported, while research showed mental health benefits from hormone therapy for gender dysphoria. The judge’s ruling allows transgender minors to receive recommended treatment in Georgia.
