Parents of four transgender children in Georgia filed a lawsuit challenging a state law prohibiting most sex reassignment surgeries and hormone replacement therapies for anyone under 18 years old.
The law, which takes effect Saturday, was passed earlier this year by the GOP-controlled General Assembly before Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed it, making Georgia one of at least 20 states with similar restrictions or bans. Most of those states are also facing legal challenges.
The federal lawsuit filed Thursday night requests that a judge permanently block the law amid concerns that its enforcement could have negative effects on transgender minors. Supporters of the law argued otherwise, stating that it keeps children from making decisions they could later regret.
U.S. District Judge Sarah Geraghty scheduled a hearing for Wednesday on an accompanying motion to stop the law’s enforcement amid the court challenge.
TENNESSEE JUDGE DISMISSES LAWSUIT FROM TRANSGENDER PLAINTIFFS ASKING TO CHANGE SEX ON BIRTH CERTIFICATES
The law does allow doctors to prescribe puberty-blocking medications and minors who are already receiving hormone therapy may continue receiving such treatment.
Under the law, minors already on puberty blockers will not be able to proceed to hormone therapy. According to the lawsuit, this means these individuals will have to either continue using the medication and the potential negative consequences of prolonged use or stop the medication and go through puberty to develop sex characteristics that correspond with their biological sex instead of their gender identity.
The law discourages doctors from prescribing puberty blockers to people not already on the medication because allowing a minor to take it until they turn 18 “is not a viable option under the appropriate standards of care,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the parents of four transgender girls and TransParent, an organization that supports parents and doctors of…
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