The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled Tuesday that Indiana's law banning minors from seeking gender-transitioning treatments is enforceable after a district court judge issued an injunction last year. (iStock)
On Tuesday, the ACLU of Indiana issued a written statement in response to the appeals court's ruling, describing it as "heartbreaking" for transgender minors, their families and doctors.
"As we and our clients consider our next steps, we want all the transgender youth of Indiana to know this fight is far from over," the statement read. "We will continue to challenge this law until it is permanently defeated and Indiana is made a safer place to raise every family."
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita did not share those sentiments and praised the court's decision in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday evening.
"Our commonsense state law, banning dangerous and irreversible gender-transition procedures for minors, is now enforceable following the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s newest order. We are proud to win this fight against the radicals who continue pushing this horrific practice on our children for ideological and financial reasons," he wrote.
The ACLU of Indiana argued in its lawsuit that the state's law banning minors from seeking gender-transitioning treatments violated the Constitution's equal protection guarantees and stripped parents of the right to make medical decisions for their children. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, among other medical groups, claim minors can safely seek gender-transitioning treatments if they are being administered properly.
Representatives from the state's only hospital-based gender health program at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis told legislators last year that doctors do not perform or provide referrals for genital surgeries for minors, according to The Associated Press. The hospital was not involved in the lawsuit opposing the ban.
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Twenty-two other states have also enacted laws restricting or banning gender-transitioning treatments for minors. They are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
The bans are in limbo in some of those states as a federal court ruled Arkansas' ban is unconstitutional and temporary injunctions were placed on the laws in Idaho and Montana.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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