A federal judge has issued a block on the ban in Idaho that restricts gender-affirming care for transgender individuals.

This blog is originally appeared at ABC NEWS.

The legislation was scheduled to be enforced starting January 1, 2024.

A federal judge has provisionally halted the implementation of an Idaho law that prohibited gender-affirming healthcare treatments for transgender individuals under the age of 18. The law, initially scheduled to become effective on January 1, 2024, would have criminalized the provision of such care.

On Wednesday, District Court Judge Lynn Winmill declared that the limitations imposed by the law violate the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause within the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“Transgender children deserve fair treatment within legal frameworks,” expressed Winmill in his verdict. “Parents should possess the right to make fundamental decisions regarding the care of their children.”

He went on to say, “Repeatedly, these cases highlight that the primary function of the Fourteenth Amendment is to safeguard disadvantaged minorities and uphold our essential rights against legislative overreach… and this remains equally valid for transgender children and their parents in the 21st Century.”

Governor Brad Little signed HB 71 into law in April. This legislation prohibits the use of puberty blockers, which enable children to explore their gender identity and temporarily halt the development of permanent sex characteristics. Additionally, the law bans hormone therapies and surgeries. Medical professionals interviewed by ABC News have emphasized that surgeries on adolescents are infrequent and are only considered after careful consideration on a case-by-case basis.

The law includes a provision for children with a “medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development,” commonly referred to as intersex.

Restrictions on access to gender-affirming care have been enforced in at least 20 states, with many of them encountering legal challenges. The legislation in Arkansas, the inaugural of its kind in the U.S., was also deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge.

Advocates for these limitations assert that they safeguard children from “medically unnecessary interventions that result in irreparable infertility, chronic health problems, and mutilated reproductive organs,” as stated in a press release by the conservative Christian lobbying group Idaho Family Policy Center after the bill was signed.

The adolescent plaintiffs central to this legal action, who stand to be affected by the legislation, emphasize that gender-affirming care has been crucial for their mental well-being. This sentiment aligns with findings from several studies.

According to the CDC, transgender youth are at a higher risk of facing anxiety, depressed mood, and suicidal ideation and attempts, primarily linked to gender-related discrimination and gender dysphoria. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine has established that gender-affirming hormone therapy is effective in enhancing the mental health of transgender adolescents and teenagers.

A plaintiff noted that puberty blockers had “near immediate positive effects” on her. Winmill’s decision highlights that by interrupting the physical changes contributing to her depression and anxiety, her mental health significantly improved.

The second plaintiff initiated puberty blockers following “several months of therapy, additional visits with her doctor, and lab work.” As per the filing, after a few months, she commenced low-dose hormone therapy.

“As a pseudonym for the plaintiff, the filing stated, ‘Since receiving gender-affirming medical care, Jane’s mental health has significantly improved, but the debate over HB 71 and other anti-transgender bills has affected her mental health and her grades.’ ‘When the bill passed, Jane wept in the hallway at school, and her parents had to take her home. The passage of the bill has also caused the Doe family to consider leaving Idaho so that Jane can continue to access the medical care that has helped her so significantly.”

Prominent national medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and over 20 others, concur that gender-affirming care is safe, effective, beneficial, and medically necessary.