A federal district court judge in Little Rock has thrown out and permanently enjoined an Arkansas law that bans gender-based care for transgender youth, according to an ACLU news release.
In his ruling today (Tuesday, June 20) in Brandt et al v. Rutledge et al, United States District Judge James M. Moody Jr. found that the law violates the constitutional rights of transgender youth, their parents and their medical providers, found that the plaintiffs prevailed on all of their claims and found that the ban violated the Equal Protection Clause, the Due Process Clauses and the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
The decision comes after a weeks-long trial in the fall of 2022 and is the first final decision on the merits in the country about this law.
The Texas legislature enacted and Gov. Greg Abbott signed a similar law last month, and trans advocates have already vowed to challenge the Texas law as well.
The Arkansas Legislature passed the measure called the “Saving Teens from Experimentation Act” in March 2021 after both the state House and Senate voted by wide margins to override a veto by Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The ACLU filed suit challenging it the following month, and three months later, a week before the law went into effect, Moody issued a temporary injunction preventing it from taking effect while the matter is in court.
A three-judge panel of the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Moody’s demand in August 2021.
Dylan Brandt, a 17-year-old transgender boy from Arkansas who, along with his mother, was among those who filed the lawsuit, said today that he is “very grateful that the judge listened to my experience of how this health care it has changed my life for the better and I saw the dangerous impact this law could have on my life and the lives of countless other transgender people.
“My mom and I wanted to fight this law not only to protect my health, but also to ensure that transgender people like me can safely and fully live our truths. Transgender children across the country have their own future threatened by laws like this, and it’s up to all of us to speak up, fight back, and give them hope,” Brandt continued.
Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, added, “We are relieved and grateful that the court has ruled in favor of these brave Arkansans and their rights, protecting the life-saving care that should be available to all trans youth.
“This decision sends a clear message,” Dickson said. “Fear mongering and misinformation about this health care does not stand up to scrutiny; it hurts trans youth and it has to stop. The science, medicine, and law are clear: Gender affirming attention is necessary to ensure these young Arkansans can thrive and be healthy.”
And Chase Strangio, deputy director of transgender justice for the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project, concluded, “This ruling provides great relief to transgender youth and their families in Arkansas and across the country. State after state, transgender people are forced to fight for our most basic rights, including access to the health care that many of us need to live. This victory shows that these laws, when tested by evidence, are indefensible under any standard of constitutional review We hope this sends a message to other states about the vulnerability of these laws and the many harms that result from their passage.
“We are so grateful for the bravery of our clients and the tireless work of Arkansas advocates.”
The law was challenged by four families of transgender youth and two doctors. The law also prohibited any state funding or insurance coverage for gender-affirming health care for transgender people under the age of 18, and would have allowed private insurers to refuse to cover gender-affirming health care gender for people of any age.
Similar laws in Alabama, Florida and Indiana are blocked by preliminary injunctions from federal courts. Through 2023, the ACLU and its national network of affiliates have challenged seven new laws similar to Arkansas’ ban.
The lawsuit in Arkansas was filed by Jon L. Stryker and Slobodan Randjelović of the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project, the ACLU of Arkansas and the law firms of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Gill Ragon Owen and the Walas Law Firm.
For more information on Brandt v. Rutledge, click here.
—Tammy Nash
