On Wednesday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a multistate brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in support of Kentucky’s and Tennessee’s bans on experimental and life-altering sex modification procedures for children.
The 21-state brief is co-led by Alabama and Arkansas. The brief highlights what the AGs call the dishonesty of advocacy groups like the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) that urge courts to defer to them on issues of pediatric sex modification. The brief argues that the Constitution gives states, not WPATH, the authority to protect children from sterilizing medical interventions pushed by LGBTQ+ groups.
“In the past, federal courts have erroneously held that states have a constitutional obligation to adhere to WPATH Standards of Care,” said AG Marshall. “Let’s remember these standards say that castration is ‘medically necessary’ for a male who identifies as a ‘eunuch’ and that sterilizing sex-modification treatments for children with gender dysphoria is ‘medically necessary gender-affirming care.’ We hope the Sixth Circuit will soon make it clear that the Constitution puts states and not WPATH in charge of regulating healthcare.”
The AGs state that while healthcare authorities in Europe have recently conducted systematic evidence reviews that led them to sharply curb access to sex-modification procedures for minors, the brief argues that “American medical organizations have run in the opposite direction: advocating unfettered access to transitioning treatments while quashing members’ calls to review the evidence.”
The brief continues: “While medical organizations are certainly capable of establishing true, evidence-based standards of care, they have utterly failed to act responsibly when it comes to pediatric sex-modification procedures. Until they do so, states like Kentucky and Tennessee are forced to step in to protect children.”
In Kentucky, Attorney General Daniel Cameron secured a legal victory on July 14, pausing the district court’s decision which had prevented enforcement of a section of Senate Bill 150. The law protects children from the irreversible effects of experimental drug treatments like puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. SB 150 is now fully in force.
“Today’s ruling is a win for parents and children,” AG Cameron said. “I’m grateful to the district court for doing what the law requires, which is protecting Kentucky kids from the irreversible harms that these experimental drug treatments would cause. Moving forward, my office will continue to defend Senate Bill 150 and stand up for the right of children to be children, free from the influences of leftist activists and radical gender ideology.”
The Kentucky General Assembly passed SB 150 during the 2023 Regular Session. The legislation prioritizes the health, safety, and welfare of children and safeguards them from, among other things, irreversible medical treatments, and ideological indoctrination in schools. Democratic Governor Andy Beshear vetoed the sweeping legislation, and the General Assembly overrode his veto by overwhelming margins.
Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Lesbian Rights sued to block enforcement of a section of the law that would revoke the licenses of physicians who perform so-called “gender-affirming care” on minors. Last month, the district court ruled in their favor, prompting Attorney General Cameron to immediately seek emergency relief in both the district court and the Sixth Circuit.
“By securing a stay of the district court’s injunction, Attorney General Cameron demonstrates his willingness to fight for the rule of law and the protection of Kentucky’s children,” said State Representative Jennifer Decker, who helped pass the legislation in the House. “It is well within the legislature’s power to ban the experimental use of off-label drugs that cause long-term, irreversible consequences for children, and it is fortunate that today’s ruling allows SB 150 to take effect pending the Attorney General’s appeal.”
In March, WPATH stated, “Both the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the US affiliate, the United States Professional Association for Transgender Health (USPATH), vehemently oppose the broad and sweeping legislation being introduced and ratified in states across the country to ban access to gender-affirming health care to transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people. WPATH’s long-standing Standards of Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse People, now in its eighth version (SOC8), explain in detail the science- and evidence-based benefits of gender-affirming care for TGD people. Any legislation that restricts or prohibits access to this care is against best practice medical standards and is condemned by WPATH and USPATH.”
The Standard of Care from WPATH states, “Given the lifelong implications of medical treatment and the young age at which treatments may be started, adolescents, their parents, and care providers should be informed about the nature of the evidence base. It seems reasonable that decisions to move forward with medical and surgical treatments should be made carefully. Despite the slowly growing body of evidence supporting the effectiveness of early medical intervention, the number of studies is still low, and there are few outcome studies that follow youth into adulthood.”
Attorney General Marshall co-led the brief in support of Kentucky and Tennessee with Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin. The brief was signed by Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
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