In an 8-1 ruling Friday, the Texas Supreme Court upheld a state law that banned transgender healthcare for minors.
"We conclude the Legislature made a permissible, rational policy choice to limit the types of available medical procedures for children, particularly in light of the relative nascency of both gender dysphoria and its various modes of treatment and the Legislature's express constitutional authority to regulate the practice of medicine," Justice Rebeca Aizpuru Huddle wrote in the court's decision.
The law prevents transgender minors from accessing hormone therapies, transition surgeries, and puberty blocks and requires children who are already on medication to be weaned off in a medically appropriate manner, the Washington Examiner reported.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton applauded the decision.
"We will always defend children in Texas from these irreversible procedures," Paxton said. "My office will use every tool at our disposal to ensure that doctors and medical institutions follow the law."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas issued a statement opposing the ruling.
"To trans youth: You belong here," the ACLU said. "We'll never stop working for a Texas where you feel safe and free to be exactly who you are. "By failing to protect access to this life-saving care, Texas has placed trans youth, their families, and the medical professionals who care for them in harm's way. Trans youth are loved, supported, and worthy of the same rights as their peers."
Justice Debra Lehrmann was the lone judge to dissent from the ruling.
"The State's categorical statutory prohibition prevents these parents, and many others, from developing individualized treatment plans for their children in consultation with their physicians, even the children for whom treatment could be lifesaving," Lehrmann wrote in her dissenting opinion. "The law is not only cruel — it is unconstitutional."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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