An Idaho district judge blocked a law protecting minors from sex change drugs and procedures, citing parents’ rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The judge argued that such treatments are safe and necessary for some adolescents, echoing left-leaning medical associations.
The lawsuit was brought by two transgender minors and their parents, claiming violations of the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses.
The ACLU praised the decision, while the Idaho Attorney General criticized it, vowing to appeal.
“Transgender children should receive equal treatment under the law,” U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill wrote.
“Parents should have the right to make the most fundamental decisions about how to care for their children. As it turns out, case law applying the Fourteenth Amendment tracks with our intuition.”
“Time and again, these cases illustrate that the Fourteenth Amendment’s primary role is to protect disfavored minorities and preserve our fundamental rights from legislative overreach,” Winmill wrote.
“That was true for newly freed slaves following the civil war. It was true in the 20th Century for women, people of color, inter-racial couples, and individuals seeking access to contraception.”
“And it is no less true for transgender children and their parents in the 21st Century,” he continued.
“We’re thankful the court saw the danger this law represented to our clients and we’re determined to fight this ban until Idaho is a safe place to raise every family,” Li Nowlin-Sohl of the American Civil Liberties Union stated.
“The federal judiciary once endorsed the eugenics movement and forced sterilization of intellectually disabled people. Similarly, Judge Winmill’s ruling places children at risk of irreversible harm,” Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador said.
“History will not look kindly at this decision. We are taking immediate action to appeal this decision and are confident that correction will come.”
“I will never stop fighting for and protecting our most vulnerable children.”
