The ACLU and National Center for Lesbian Rights are calling the ruling “an absolute win” for transgender youth. The groups were granted a preliminary injunction, blocking enforcement of Section 4 of Senate Bill 150, the provision that bars gender transitioning services for minors. That means the use of hormone therapy and puberty blockers can continue while the case moves through the court system.
As for the ruling itself, Angela Cooper with the ACLU says it should give LGBTQ and trans rights supporters confidence that the provision won’t withstand legal scrutiny.
"It's extremely important. If you look at the text of the preliminary injunction, it indicates that the reason the injunction was granted was because Judge Hale in the Western District feels that we have a very solid case and that we are likely to prevail," Cooper says.
The ruling comes as welcome news for the plaintiffs, which include seven transgender minors and their parents.
"Kentucky’s trans kids and their families have been living in fear of the approaching date the law would take effect—they can all breathe a sigh of relief now as reason wins out over hateful, discriminatory rhetoric," Chris Hartman with the fairness Campaign wrote in a statement.
But where backers see an encouraging win, opponents see a temporary setback.
"Disappointed but not surprised," David Walls with the Family Foundation described his reaction. "This is an activist ruling."
Walls maintains SB 150’s restrictions are common sense. They bar healthcare providers — at the risk of losing their license — from offering what supporters refer to as gender-affirming care. In the bill, medical professionals are told that they shall not provide the care “for the purposes of attempting to alter the appearance of, or to validate a minor’s perception of, the minor’s sex if that appearance or perception is inconsistent with the minor’s sex.”
Recent court rulings outside of Kentucky have favored opponents of such measures.
"Ultimately, I'm confident that the law will be upheld and that we will see the end of these barbaric medical experiments on children, not just in Kentucky but across the nation as we're seeing happen overseas right now," Walls adds.
As the injunction puts that on hold, addressing what’s been the most contentious debate surrounding the measure, it doesn’t stop the rest of the bill from officially becoming law Thursday. That means new language restricting transgender students’ bathroom and locker room use, limiting teaching about sexuality, and prohibiting rules requiring teachers to use students’ preferred pronouns is set to take effect.
Those new rules wereadded to Fayette County Public School policy this week.
