
ACLU sues Arkansas to block enforcement of ban on gender-affirming treatment for trans youth
CNN
The American Civil Liberties Union sued Arkansas on Tuesday in an effort to block enforcement of a recently passed law that prohibits physicians in the state from providing gender-affirming treatment for trans youth, arguing it violates the Constitution and will have "devastating consequences" for members of the community.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court on behalf of four transgender adolescents in Arkansas and their families, as well as two doctors who provide gender-affirming care to trans youth in the state, is reportedly the first legal challenge to Arkansas' Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, which became the first such ban to be approved by a state after Arkansas' legislature overrode Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson's veto of the measure last month. The lawsuit also sets up an early challenge to one of the more closely watched anti-trans bills passed in 2021 -- a year that has seen an unprecedented number of state bills that seek to impose restrictions on the lives of transgender Americans.More Related News