Aiexpress – A federal appeals court has ruled that Indiana can enforce a controversial law that says children can’t get medical care that affirms their gender.
According to Senate Bill 480, which Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law almost a year ago, doctors cannot perform transition procedures on minors or assist or encourage another medical professional to do so without risking civil litigation.
The ban was supposed to start on July 1, but a lower court blocked the law a month early, so children could still get gender-affirming medicine while the case was being heard.
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the stay on Tuesday, which meant that the ban could go into effect.
The decision was made after the court heard opinions on February 16. The panel of three judges said that their ruling would be made public later.
“This ruling is beyond disappointing and a heartbreaking development for thousands of transgender youth, their doctors, and their families,” said the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which was the suit that first opposed the ban.
“As we and our clients consider our next steps, we want all the transgender youth of Indiana to know this fight is far from over, and we will continue to challenge this law until it is permanently defeated and Indiana is made a safer place to raise every family.”
The decision comes at a time when Republicans are trying to limit and ban gender-affirming care across the country, even though all major American medical groups back it, even for kids.
The Movement Advancement Project says that at least 23 states have banned or limited the ability of children to get gender-affirming medicine.
Todd Rokita, the attorney general of Indiana, praised the court’s decision on Tuesday and called S.B. 480 a “common state law.”
“We are proud to win this fight against the radicals who continue pushing this horrific practice on our children for ideological and financial reasons,” he stated on X.
Based on data from the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, there are about 4,100 transgender teens and young adults in Indiana. That’s less than 1% of the state’s population.
