The National Center for Lesbian Rights and the ACLU of Utah are coming together in a lawsuit against Utah’s new law banning hormone treatment and gender-affirming surgery for people under 18.
Recently, Utah signed SB16, a law that would ban gender-affirming surgery for patients under the age of 18 and would pause any hormone treatments for patients not already being treated for six months.Utah, which has a GOP majority, argued that this legislation is in the best interest of children, as there is no conclusive research as to what long-standing effects these treatments will have.
NCLR legal director, Shannon Minter, argued the harm of the new legislation is “so clear”. “They will suffer very serious consequences,” says Minter. “Even life-threatening consequences.”
The ACLU also released a statement claiming that they will continue to defend the rights of trans kids in Utah and throughout the United States. “We are planning to challenge the law in courts, which should surprise no one,” said the ACLU in a prepared statement. The ACLU of Arkansas and Alabama have challenged similar laws in their states, respectively.
So far this year, ten other states have introduced bills targeting healthcare access for transgender and gender-nonconforming people, and an additional 15 states have restricted access to the kind of care available, according to the Williams Institute.
