by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)
The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Thursday (Aug. 25) upheld a preliminary injunction against an Arkansas law that bans gender transition procedures for those under age 18. Plaintiffs say the law, Act 626, violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause.
Act 626 prohibits physicians and health care professionals from providing gender transition procedures to individuals under age 18, or to refer minors to other health care professionals. It also prohibits the use of public funds or insurance coverage for gender transition procedures. It does not prohibit services for persons born with a “medically verifiable disorder of sex development,” such as external biological sex characteristics.
The law was the first in the nation to block medical procedures for gender transition. Gov. Asa Hutchinson vetoed the bill, but the Legislature overrode the veto.
