Federal Judge Blocks Indiana Law Protecting Children From Life-Altering Transgender

A federal judge has partially blocked an Indiana law meant to protect children from life-altering transgender procedures, temporarily stopping a prohibition on giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors. 

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana Judge James Patrick Hanlon placed a preliminary injunction Friday on Indiana SB 480 after the American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of several parents who claimed the law was unconstitutional. The injunction does not block the law’s prohibition on surgeries like double mastectomies for girls who identify as boys or genital surgeries. 

Indiana officials have promised to fight for the law, which was signed earlier this year and set to go into effect on July 1. 

“The Court openly acknowledges evidence showing the safety and effectiveness of puberty blockers and hormone therapy are uncertain and unsettled,” a spokesperson for Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita told The Hill. “It also recognizes that the State has shown there are good reasons for regulating gender transition procedures for minors.”

“So, our office will continue to defend the democratically passed laws of the Indiana General Assembly, and we will continue to fight for the children,” the spokesperson said, adding that the federal ruling wouldn’t be the “end of the story.” 

Indiana is one of the 20 states that has moved to protect children from life-altering transgender procedures in the last several years. Indiana’s law was challenged by the ACLU just hours after it was signed by Republican Governor Eric Holcomb, which filed similar lawsuits in other states. 

Ken Faulk, the ACLU of Indiana’s legal director, celebrated the preliminary injunction. 

“Today’s victory is a testament to the trans youth of Indiana, their families, and their allies, who never gave up the fight to protect access to gender-affirming care and who will continue to defend the right of all trans people to be their authentic selves, free from discrimination,” Faulk said. “We won’t rest until this unconstitutional law is struck down for good.” 

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Those in support of transgender procedures on children have pursued an aggressive court strategy, with state laws shielding children from the procedures being blocked in several states including Alabama, Arkansas, and Florida. 

In Florida, Judge Robert Hinkle issued a ruling against Florida’s ban on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones that was steeped in activist language. 

“The elephant in the room should be noted at the outset,” he wrote in a 44-page ruling. “Gender identity is real. The record makes this clear.”

President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice has weighed in as well, suing the state of Tennessee over its ban on transgender procedures.