Idaho's felony gender-affirming care ban stays blocked

Idaho’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors, which makes provision of the care a felony, will remain blocked while a lawsuit against it proceeds, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

In late December, U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the ban, which was due to take effect January 1. He said the families who sued to challenge the law were likely to succeed in proving it was unconstitutional. The state asked that the injunction be put on hold pending appeal so the law could begin to be enforced immediately, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit refused to do so. It issued a brief order to this effect Tuesday.

Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 71 into law in April, making gender-affirming care for transition purposes a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. It covers not only surgery but puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

Two trans teens, identified by the pseudonyms Jane Doe and Pam Poe, and their parents filed suit May 31 in U.S. District Court in Idaho. They say the law violates the equal protection clause and the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, its Idaho affiliate, and the law firms Wrest Collective; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; and Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone LLP.

“This ruling should be celebrated by everyone who decries discrimination,” ACLU of Idaho Legal Director Paul Carlos Southwick said in a press release. “We celebrate alongside transgender youth and their families throughout Idaho who will continue to have access to the health care they need and deserve.”

“Once again, the federal courts have upheld the rights of transgender youth and their families to access the medical care they and their doctors know is right for them without political interference,” added Li Nowlin-Sohl, staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “HB 71 and every ban like it are a dangerous attempt to discriminate against transgender youth, subvert the rights of their parents, and threaten the freedom and well-being of the very people this law claims to protect. We welcome this ruling from the Ninth Circuit and are grateful for the privilege of defending the constitutional rights of the families of Idaho.”

Attorneys from the anti-LGBTQ+ group Alliance Defending Freedom are assisting Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador in defending the ban. The group is also aiding in the state’s defense of its near-total ban on abortion.

In its appeal regarding the gender-affirming care case, the state is due to file briefs with the Ninth Circuit in February, and responses from the attorneys for the trans minors and their families are due in March.