Idaho filed an emergency request on Friday asking that the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and allow Idaho to enforce its current law which bans hormonal therapy and genital surgery on minors.
In December of 2023, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill temporarily blocked Idaho's law, HB 71, only days before it was set to take effect. In his order, the judge wrote, "the medical treatments banned by HB 71 have a long history of safe use in minors for various conditions and are supported by medical evidence that has been subjected to rigorous study."
Last April, Idaho passed the Vulnerable Child Protection Act to prevent children from receiving procedures that block the body's natural development. Doctors that violate the law could face up to a decade in prison and $5,000 in fines.
"I've witnessed firsthand the devastating consequences of drugs and procedures used on children with gender dysphoria, and it's a preventable tragedy," Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador said in a statement. "The state has a duty to protect and support all children and that's why I'm proud to defend Idaho's law that ensures children are not subjected to these life-altering drugs and procedures. Those suffering gender dysphoria deserve love, support, and medical care rooted in biological reality. Denying the basic truth that boys and girls are biologically different hurts our kids. No one has the right to harm children, and, thankfully, we as the state have the power — and duty — to protect them."
While the Supreme Court has been reluctant to hear cases involving gender dysphoria in the past, the ubiquity of recent challenges to laws both for and against such medical procedures may prove overwhelming. The Alliance Defending Freedom and the law offices of Copper and Kirk assisted Idaho with the filing.
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