The federal appeals court overturned a lower court ruling that found the state law discriminated against young people who identify as transgender.
A federal appeals court has reinstated an Arkansas law banning transgender procedures for individuals younger than 18 years of age.
On Aug. 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled 8–2 in Brandt v. Griffin, overturning a lower court ruling that held the law was unconstitutional. The circuit court found the law does not discriminate on the basis of sex.
In 2021, the Arkansas General Assembly enacted the Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act, which forbade health care professionals from providing “gender transition procedures to minors.” The statute also prohibited those professionals from referring minors for those procedures, according to the new majority opinion in the case known as Brandt v. Griffin.
The opinion said the statute defined referring minors for the procedures as “unprofessional conduct … subject to discipline by the appropriate licensing entity or disciplinary review board,” and empowered the state attorney general to enforce compliance. The measure became law over the veto of then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican.
Four minors, their parents, and two health care professionals had sued to prevent the Arkansas attorney general and the Arkansas State Medical Board from enforcing the law. They argued that the state law unconstitutionally classified patients on the basis of sex.
U.S. District Judge Jay Moody issued a permanent injunction blocking enforcement, finding the statute ran afoul of the First Amendment, as well as the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause and due process clause, the opinion said.
The opinion said Moody’s ruling was not consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on June 18 in United States v. Skrmetti.
In that ruling, the high court upheld Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors, which was based on the age—as opposed to the sex—of the patient. Chief Justice John Roberts said the issue should not be viewed through the lens of sex-based discrimination, which would invite challenges to state laws under the equal protection clause.
“Because the district court rested its permanent injunction on incorrect conclusions of law, it abused its discretion,” the Eighth Circuit opinion said.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin hailed the court ruling.
“I applaud the court’s decision recognizing that Arkansas has a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological health of children and am pleased that children in Arkansas will be protected from risky, experimental procedures with lifelong consequences,” he said in a statement.
