Red State Can Now Protect Kids From Trans Procedures After Court Victory
An Arkansas law banning transgender medical procedures for minors can now be enforced after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit lifted a years-long block, marking a major legal win for the state and for other states with similar legislation.
In an 8-2 decision, the court reinstated the Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act (SAFE), which bars doctors from performing procedures such as double mastectomies on girls who identify as boys, genital surgeries, and prescribing puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to minors. It also prohibits medical professionals from referring minors for these treatments.
The majority opinion rejected claims that parents have a constitutional right to obtain such procedures for their children, writing, “This court finds no such right in this Nation’s history and tradition.” The ruling repeatedly cited the Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding Tennessee’s similar ban, reinforcing a legal precedent that states have authority to restrict these interventions for minors.
Supporters of the law argue that these procedures carry irreversible consequences — including risks to bone density, fertility, and long-term development — and should not be available to children. Arkansas was the first state to pass such legislation in 2021, sparking a wave of similar laws in more than two dozen states.
The SAFE Act had been blocked since July 2021 after a district judge sided with a lawsuit filed by four minors and two medical providers, who claimed it violated First Amendment rights and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection and Due Process clauses. The appeals court dismissed those arguments, stating the law does not discriminate based on transgender status but instead distinguishes between the purposes for which drugs or surgeries are sought.
Arkansas Republican leaders welcomed the decision. Attorney General Tim Griffin praised it as a protection for children against “experimental procedures,” while Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders called it “a win for common sense” and celebrated the return of the nation’s first law of its kind.
With this ruling, Arkansas can now fully enforce its ban, potentially influencing ongoing legal battles in other states with similar measures.