(Washington) An Idaho state law banning medical procedures for transgender minors is now applicable, the country’s Supreme Court ruled Monday, a temporary decision pending a decision on the merits of the case.
More than twenty out of fifty American states have adopted legislation prohibiting certain health treatments intended for minors who do not identify with their birth sex, texts contested in court on a highly controversial subject in the United States.
The law in Idaho, a rural state in the northwest, threatens criminal prosecution against health professionals who practice various treatments such as puberty blockers, hormones, or certain surgical procedures on minors.
Adopted in 2023, the law was quickly challenged before the federal courts, and its implementation suspended until then.
On Monday, without ruling on the constitutionality of such a law, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the State of Idaho, which requested that the law be applicable pending a decision on the merits. The high court, however, authorized the plaintiffs to benefit from such care.
“Today’s decision allows the State to end the care that benefits thousands of families, and sows confusion,” the association for the defense of civil liberties and co-complainant reacted in a press release. , ACLU, denouncing “a horrible outcome for transgender youth and their families.”
Today’s decision “allows Idaho to enforce its law which protects children from harmful experimental procedures and treatments,” said Raul Labrador, the attorney general of Idaho.
Several associations representing doctors and health professionals in the United States defend these treatments, but many conservative elected officials are firmly opposed to them.