An Indiana law banning transgender-related medical procedures for minors is allowed to take effect following a Tuesday ruling in a federal court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has allowed Indiana to prevent doctors from giving children cross-sex hormone treatments, puberty blockers, and sex trait modification surgeries, according to a report by the Indianapolis Star.
Last year, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed legislation banning transgender-related medical procedures for minors — which included prohibiting doctors from performing sex change surgeries, as well as prescribing kids drugs, like puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
Under this new law, a physician who is caught providing such procedures could face discipline by the state’s medical licensing board.
Indiana’s Gov. Eric Holcomb talks with representatives after he delivered his State of the State address to a joint session of the legislature at the statehouse on Jan. 11, 2022, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
The law banning the mutilation of minors was set to take effect last summer but could not due to a legal challenge brought by radical transgender activists and advocates, represented by the ACLU of Indiana.
The ACLU of Indiana reacted to Tuesday’s ruling, saying the court’s decision to prevent children from undergoing transgender-related medical procedures was “beyond disappointing.”
“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 organization said.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, meanwhile, reacted to Tuesday’s court ruling by celebrating the decision to ban the “dangerous and irreversible” procedures.
“Our commonsense state law, banning dangerous and irreversible gender-transition procedures for minors, is now enforceable following the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s newest order,” AG Rokita said in an X/Twitter post.
The attorney general added, “We are proud to win this fight against the radicals who continue pushing this horrific practice on our children for ideological and financial reasons.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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