On Wednesday, a federal judge blocked a new Kentucky law intended to shield children from so-called gender-affirming procedures, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, on otherwise healthy persons under the age of 18. Key provisions of Senate Bill 150 should have taken effect on Thursday, but U.S. District Judge David J. Hale, an Obama appointee, found that the plaintiffs had a good chance of succeeding in the lawsuit because of their contention that the new law violated their constitutional rights under the 14th Amendment.
The new law’s restriction against surgical intervention on minors (castrations, hysterectomies, etc.) remains in effect and, thus far, has not been challenged.
The plaintiffs are seven so-called transgender children and their parents, who are suing to stop the new law with assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. They argue that the new law violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the 14th Amendment.
Judge Hale agreed: “After careful consideration, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have shown a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their constitutional challenges to SB 150 and otherwise meet the requirements for preliminary injunctive relief.”
Hale found that “the treatments barred by SB 150 are medically appropriate and necessary for some transgender children under the evidence-based standard of care accepted by all major medical organizations in the United States.”
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear applauded the decision:
Well, a federal judge ruled what I believe: that parents have the legal right to make important and sometimes difficult medical decisions for their kids – that a parent should always be trusted to make medical decisions for their children, not government. This is one where I believe in the rights of parents, being a parent, to do what’s right for their kids.
SB 150 was passed in March and survived a veto by Beshear, who claimed that the new law would have allowed “too much government interference in personal healthcare issues” and ripped away “the freedom of parents to make medical decisions for their children.”
But that veto was easily overridden in Kentucky’s House and Senate, putting the transgender cult’s last hope for reprieve in the hands of the courts. And on Wednesday, Judge Hale handed that cult at least a temporary victory.
The Kentucky ACLU applauded the injunction.
“We are grateful to the Court for enjoining this egregious ban on medically necessary care, which would have caused harm for countless young Kentuckians,” said ACLU-KY Legal Director Corey Shapiro. “This is a win, but it is only the first step. We’re prepared to fight for families’ right to make their own private medical decisions in court, and to continue doing everything in our power to ensure access to medical care is permanently secured in Kentucky.”
But Kentucky’s Attorney General Daniel Cameron blasted the injunction in a statement.
“Today’s misguided decision by a federal judge tramples the right of the General Assembly to make public policy for the Commonwealth,” Cameron said. “Senate Bill 150 is a commonsense law that protects Kentucky children from unnecessary medical experimentation with powerful drugs and hormone treatments. These procedures are not based on science, threaten the safety of minors, and have irreversible life-long consequences on children’s health. This is why other countries have moved to restrict such treatments, citing a lack of medical evidence and considerable long term risks, and have called for the kind of protections contained in SB 150.”
Cameron vowed to keep fighting for the new law, saying, “There is nothing ‘affirming’ about this dangerous approach to mental health.”
While the most heinous surgical aspects of what is euphemistically referred to as “gender affirming care” remain restricted in the Bluegrass State, the truly dangerous aspects of puberty blockers and hormone therapies cannot be ignored. The Mayo Clinic, a pro-transgender medical facility, lists possible side effects of hormone replacement therapy as weight gain, hot flashes, mood swings, and sometimes severe headaches. Such therapies can also have long-term effects on bone growth, bone density, and even fertility.
In many ways, the drug therapies offered to children who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria are just as dangerous and life altering as the surgeries.
