Trump-appointed federal judge blocks Indiana’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth

The ruling marks another legal victory for LGBT+ advocates challenging similar state laws in court

A federal judge in Indiana has partially blocked a ban on affirming healthcare for trangender youth, continuing a streak of victories in legal challenges against state laws targeting gender-affirming care.

The ruling on 16 June from US District Judge James Patrick Hanlon, who was appointed by Donald Trump, issues a preliminary injunction against the recently enacted law.

His ruling is the fourth recent courtroom victory for trans youth and LGBT+ advocates who have challenged similar laws across the US, including a recent federal court ruling in Florida that eviscerated the state’s anti-trans policies and condemned the bigotry that fuelled such legislation.

Indiana’s law, which was set to go into effect on 1 July, prohibits healthcare providers from allowing trans youth under age 18 to access hormone therapies, puberty blockers and affirming surgeries, which are not even provided to minors in the state.

The judge’s order allows the state to continue to ban affirming surgeries and also blocks a part of the law that would prohibit Indiana doctors from communicating with doctors in other states about affirming care for their trans patients under 18.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit to block the law on behalf of four transgender youth and their families and Mosaic Health.

“We warned lawmakers that if they passed laws attacking trans people that they would see us in court,” Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, said in a statement.

“This victory belongs to the families who have bravely participated in this case, as well as other trans youth in Indiana who spoke up about the harms created by this law. Our work in Indiana and around the country is far from over – including with this law,” he added.

Indiana’s ban, which was signed by Republican Governor Eric Holcomb in April, would forcibly detransition trans youth who are currently receiving such treatment and outright ban trans youth from being prescribed any care under widely used guidelines by all major medical organisations.

Judge Hanlon, who was appointed to the federal judiciary by Mr Trump in 2018, stated in his ruling that “medical harms, including to mental health, can constitute irreparable harm,” including harm from being denied treatment for gender dysphoria.

“And –again– there’s evidence that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone therapy reduces distress for some minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria,” he added. “The risk of irreparable harm therefore supports a preliminary injunction.”

By the end of May, state lawmakers across the country had introduced more than 500 bills impacting LGBT+ people this year, including 220 bills specifically targeting trans and nonbinary Americans, according to an analysis from the Human Rights Campaign. More than 70 such bills have been signed into law.

At least 19 states have enacted laws or policies banning affirming healthcare for young trans people, all against the guidance of health providers and major medical organisations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.