Kentucky Youth Transgender Care Ban Gets Greenlight From Judge

A Kentucky ban on gender affirming care for minors can go into effect while an appeals court battle plays out that could have ramifications beyond state lines.

US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky Judge David Hale on Friday lifted an injunction blocking a Kentucky law that prevented health care providers from prescribing or administering hormones or puberty blockers to minors for gender-affirming care. Hale had previously blocked the law after transgender youth and their parents showed that they could likely succeed in the case by arguing the state law violated due process and equal protection rights.

The ruling marks the second court decision this month that allows a state ban on youth transgender healthcare from going into effect. Earlier this month, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit OK’d a request from Tennessee’s Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti (R) to lift an injunction stopping state restrictions on performing gender-affirming surgeries and administering hormones or puberty blockers to minors from going into effect while the appeal plays out.

The Sixth Circuit has tied that Tennessee case to the Kentucky suit, following Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s (R) decision to appeal and request the district court stay the injunction. Now, following the Sixth Circuit ruling on the Tennessee injunction, Hale wrote that the plaintiffs in the Kentucky case are “unlikely to succeed on appeal.”

“In light of that ruling, the Court sees no basis to deny the requested stay,” Hale wrote.

Around 20 laws across the U.S. are seeking to limit gender-affirming care, many of which have been blocked by legal challenges.

Yet whether transgender health care rights survive at the appellate level is a different story. With cases playing out in different circuits, there could ultimately be a split, making the issue ripe for Supreme Court review.

The case is Doe 1 v. Thornbury, W.D. Ky., No. 3:23-cv-00230, Order 7/14/23.

The Sixth Circuit case is L.W. v. Skrmetti, 6th Cir., No. 23-05600.