Gender-affirming youth care banned again in TN after court overrules injunction for now
In a late Friday order, an appellate court sided with Tennessee and temporarily reversed a lower court's ruling that blocked enforcement of part of the state's gender-affirming youth care ban.
The order allows Tennessee to enforce its ban on treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapies, which technically went into effect on July 1. Under the law, minor patients already on the medications have until March 2024 to stop using them.
The 6th Circuit ruling is preliminary while the court considers arguments for a full appeal of the lower court's ban, with a full ruling expected by Sept. 30.
The lower court's temporary injunction, now stayed, came amid an ongoing lawsuit filed by Tennessee families, doctors and the U.S. Department of Justice against the state.
The lawsuit is expected to go to a full trial early next year, but plaintiffs sought a court order to pause enforcement of the law ahead of a final ruling. U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson's initial ruling indicated Tennessee's early arguments in favor of the law have been unconvincing and that the General Assembly "likely failed" in crafting a constitutionally sound law.
Two out of three judges on the appellate panel disagreed, not only temporarily blocking Richardson's stay but also expressing skepticism of Richardson's reasoning.
Related: Court halts Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care, at least for now
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"Both sides have the same fear, just in opposite directions—one saying the procedures create health risks that cannot be undone, the other saying the absence of such procedures creates risks that cannot be undone," Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote in the ruling. "What makes it bearable to choose between the two sides is the realization that not every choice is for judges to make. In this instance, elected representatives made these precise cost-benefit decisions and did not trigger any reasons for skeptical review in doing so."
A third, dissenting judge disagreed with Richardson's ruling to block enforcement of the law for the entire state, rather than just the lawsuit's plaintiffs, but she found Tennessee's law is likely unconstitutional on the basis of sex discrimination.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee gender-affirming youth care ban: State wins temporary appeal