A federal bench trial involving four Arkansas transgender youth, their parents, and their doctor was led by U.S. District Judge James M. Moody Jr.
Act No. 626 of 2021 (Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act) was passed in March 2021 after both the State House and Senate voted by a wide margin to overrule a veto by Governor Asa Hutchinson. was passed. The next month, it was challenged in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, and three months later, a week before the law took effect, Moody issued a temporary order to block enforcement while the matter was in court. issued a restraining order. .
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld Moody’s injunction in August. A little over a week before him, the court ruled not to bring the matter to full Eighth Circuit review and denied a motion to appeal Moody’s judgment filed by the Office of Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. The lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of plaintiffs, alleges that the law violates the equal protection and due process provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment and the protection of free speech under the First Amendment. claim.
The plaintiffs in this action, represented by American Civil Liberties Union attorneys, are Dylan Blunt, Parker Saxton, Sabrina Genen, Brooke Dennis, and their parents, Joanna Blunt, Donnie Saxton, Aaron and Lacey Genen, Shane and Amanda Dennis, and two doctors. Dr. Michele Hutchison and Dr. Kathryn Stambough providing healthcare to his transgender teen.
The defendants in the case, represented by the state attorney general’s office legal team, include Rutledge, medical board director Amy Embry, medical board members Sylvia Simon, Robert Bleving Jr., John Scribner, Elizabeth Anderson, Lys Branman, and Edward “Ward”. Gardner, Rodney Griffin, Betty Gouman, Brian Hiatt, Timothy Padden, Don Phillips, William Rutledge, David Staggs, Verril Hodges.
Significant to the public attention this case has received is the number of business groups and medical associations that have filed plaintiffs’ opinions with the court’s friend Amicus, and the number of states that have joined the plaintiffs’ side. defendant.
The law was heralded by state legislators and the Office of the Attorney General as necessary protections to keep Arkansas children safe from life-changing medical procedures at a time when they are too young to make such decisions. Opponents of the law argue that it violates the constitutional rights of children, their parents, and their health care workers, and deny life-saving gender affirmation care to transgender youth. By refusing, we are putting transgender youth at risk.
The Eighth Circuit upheld Moody’s Temporary Injunction on Law 626, noting that the law discriminates on the basis of sex and that under the judicial standard of rigorous scrutiny, states are compelled to He held that he had the burden of proving that no benefit existed. Justify discrimination to protect the law.
Created by Republican Rep. Robin Lundstram of Elm Springs and passed largely by party vote, the law allows physicians to provide care or referrals to transgender youth associated with gender dysphoria. is prohibited.
The condition is defined by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota as a feeling of discomfort or distress that can occur in people whose gender identity differs from the gender or gender-related physical characteristics with which they were born. It has been.
The trial began on October 17 and was adjourned on October 21, during which the plaintiff filed a suit and the defense began with three witnesses.
During the first week of the trial, Dylan Brandt, 17, himself, one of the affected children’s parents and one of the teenagers, shared his experiences dealing with gender dysphoria and how each of them had this problem. told the path taken to deal with Solve problems on an individual level while navigating what has become a political minefield in Arkansas and elsewhere across the country. The conservative Republican-dominated Arkansas legislature has taken a strong stance on gender-affirming health care, calling it experimental and equating such care with child abuse. .
In its first week of trial, however, many of the plaintiffs’ cases have involved a California psychiatrist with 30 years of experience in the field, who served on the committee that established the standard of care in 2011. Enhanced by expert testimonials from experts in childhood gender dysphoria. and 2021 are widely used to treat gender dysphoria.
Dr. Dan Karasic describes protocols for diagnosing GID, the standards of care established by the World Association of Transgender Health Professionals, and whether individuals with GID receive inappropriate care or not at all. I testified about the consequences of not receiving care. He said people who suffer from gender dysphoria often have higher rates of depression and anxiety, and are more prone to suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, or self-harm.
Pediatric endocrinologist Deanna Adkins, Ph.D., discusses the use of pubertal blockers and hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria, and the process of evaluating patients and their families, ensuring that all treatments are individualized for each patient. emphasized that there are
Armand Antmaria, Ph.D., bioethicist and pediatric hospitalist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, combines research on the treatment of gender identity disorder with caregivers, parents or guardians, and pediatric patients to see if such patients described a consent process that confirms that a person is genuinely struggling with their gender. Discomfort rather than other conditions. He said Law 626, if allowed to take effect, would present a significant ethical dilemma for caregivers.
When the trial resumes Monday, the state is expected to present testimony from a number of expert witnesses, including Dr. I’m here. Mark Regeneras, sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin. Ohio Case Dr. Stephen Levin, a clinical psychiatrist at his Western Reserve University School of Medicine. and Dr. Paul Hruz, a St. Louis pediatric endocrinologist who specializes in treating childhood diabetes.
