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US Judge Blocks Arkansas’s Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
A US District Judge in Arkansas has been observed to block the law within Arkansas that bans gender-affirming care to minors.
This means the law that prohibited doctors from providing gender-affirming care to minors, including puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery to transgender minors, has been blocked by the judiciary of Arkansas.
The judge who barred the law from getting enforced stated that there is enough evidence of ways gender-affirming care tends to improve the mental well-being of its patients.
If the care is barred, then the state will be undermining the interest of its residents, trying to claim their fundamental rights.
District Judge James Moody also embarked on a journey last year in blocking the enforcement of the law with a preliminary order while he considered the case.
The plaintiff of the case, a seventeen years old transgender boy, has stated he is very much grateful for the decision that has been provided by the judge.
This is because there are various individuals who are satisfied with their naturally assigned sex or gender. They always have the urge to experience the gender they affirm with.
Due to this, if such individuals are not provided with the right to care that can effectively improve their mental health or well-being, then the law shall bar their fundamental rights.
On the other hand, the attorney general of Arkansas has been noted for his capacity to apply for an appeal against the block that has been implemented on the Arkansas law planning to bar gender-affirming care for minors.
Arkansas’s Attorney General has been highly disappointed with the judgment that has been provided by the District Judge, Moody.
He has stated that the law barring gender-affirming care for minors has been aimed at protecting children from harmful experimentation under the nickname of ‘gender transition.’
States That Has Further Blocked Such Discriminatory Laws
Arkansas was one of the first states in the US in 2021 to impose a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The state’s Republican government was noted to impose the ban through a veto.
Since this law was passed in Arkansas, there have been many other Republican states within the United States to have passed similar laws.
Such laws have been challenged in court in many states having laws that ban gender-affirming care.
Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Indiana, and Florida are some of the states that have full to partial blocks on laws that bar individuals from having access to gender-affirming care.
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