THE Supreme Court of Texas On Friday, the court upheld the state’s ban on gender transition treatment for children, allowing the Lone Star State to remain one of at least 25 states, and the largest, with restrictions on such treatment.
The law, effective September 1, 2023, prohibits children under 18 from accessing hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and gender transition surgery. Children already taking these medications were required to gradually reduce their use. The law provides exemptions for children in early puberty or who have “a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development.”
The lawsuit that challenged the law argued that it harms transgender teens who are not allowed to receive gender transition treatment recommended by their doctors and parents, according to The Associated Press.
The all-Republican court ruled 8-1.
JUDGE RULES MONTANA LAW DEFINING SEX AS ONLY MALE OR FEMALE IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday upheld the state’s ban on gender transition treatment for children. (PA)
“We conclude that the Legislature made a rational and permissible policy choice to limit the types of medical procedures available to children, particularly in light of the relative inception of gender dysphoria and its various modes of treatment and “express constitutional authority of the Legislature to regulate the practice of medicine,” Justice Rebeca Aizpuru Huddle wrote.
The lone dissenting judge said the court gave the state government the ability to “legislate to take away fundamental parental rights.”
“The law’s categorical ban prevents these parents, and many others, from developing individualized treatment plans for their children in consultation with their doctors, even for children for whom treatment could save their lives.” , wrote Judge Debra Lehrmann. “The law is not only cruel, it is also unconstitutional. »
A lower court had ruled the law unconstitutional, but it was allowed to go into effect while the state Supreme Court considered the case.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton tweeted after the ruling that his office “will use every tool at our disposal to ensure doctors and medical institutions follow the law.”
The law prohibits children under 18 from accessing hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and gender transition surgery. (Fox News)
The groups that filed a complaint criticized the decision as harmful to transgender children and their families.
“It is impossible to overstate the devastating impact of this decision on Texas transgender youth and the families who love and support them,” Karen Loewy, senior attorney and constitutional law practice director at Lambda Legal, one of the groups that sued the state court on behalf of the doctors and families, told The Associated Press.
Ash Hall, a policy and advocacy strategist for the ACLU of Texas for LGBTQIA+ rights, said the government should not “deprive trans youth of the health care they need to survive and thrive,” adding that “Texas politicians’ obsession with attacking trans kids and their families is needlessly cruel.”
Gender transition treatment for transgender children is supported by major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, and the Endocrine Society.
BRAGG’S OFFICE FACES BAR COMPLAINT ALLEGING DISCRIMINATION IN ‘DIVERSITY’ HIRING PRACTICES
The lawsuit that challenged the law argued that it harms transgender teens who are not allowed to receive gender transition treatment recommended by their doctors and parents. (ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
A judge dismissed the medical groups’ position as irrelevant to whether the Texas law is constitutional.
“Whether expert witnesses or influential interest groups like the American Psychiatric Association disagree with the Legislature’s judgment has no bearing on the constitutional question,” Justice James Blacklock wrote in an opinion concordant. “The Texas Constitution authorizes the legislature to regulate “practitioners of medicine.” »
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
At a trial court hearing, several doctors who treat transgender children testified that patients could face worsening mental health and potentially suicide if they were denied gender transition treatment.
Texas officials He said the law was necessary to protect children and highlighted several other restrictions on minors intended to keep them safe, including on tattoos, alcohol, tobacco and some over-the-counter medications.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
