A federal judge on Tuesday restored the enforcement of a law in Georgia that banned licensed medical professionals in the state from providing patients under the age of 18 with cross-sex hormone therapy.
Last month, a federal judge temporarily blocked parts of Georgia’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth from going into effect, finding that potential effects to transgender youth, “including risks of depression, anxiety, disordered eating, self-harm, and suicidal ideation – outweigh any harm the State will experience from the injunction.”
The next day, an appellate court sided with an Alabama state law in a challenge to its gender-affirming care ban, which is similar to Georgia’s, finding that the plaintiffs “have not presented any authority that supports the existence of a constitutional right to treat [one’s] children with transitioning medications subject to medically accepted standards.”
In its order on Tuesday, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia cited the Alabama decision in restoring the enforcement of the ban, believing that to intervene in Georgia’s ban while the appeals process unfolds in Alabama could result in an order that conflicts with a potential precedent established by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes the two districts where challenges to the bans are playing out.
“It is undisputed that this Court’s preliminary injunction order rests on legal grounds that have been squarely rejected by the panel in Eknes-Tucker (the Alabama decision), and that this Court’s injunction cannot stand on the bases articulated in the order,” District Judge Sarah Geraghty wrote in her order.
She also wrote, “The Court deems it prudent to await further developments in Eknes-Tucker before adjudicating the motion to reconsider.”
Georgia law, Senate Bill 140, bans licensed medical professionals in the state from providing patients under the age of 18 with cross-sex hormone therapy and initially went into effect on July 1. Healthcare providers could face criminal and civil penalties if they do not comply with the law.
The legal challenge to SB 140 was brought in late June by four transgender youth in the state and their families, as well as an advocacy group whose work includes “connecting families of transgender children to local practitioners who provide gender-affirming medical care,” according to a complaint.
The law allows minors who started “hormone replacement therapies” before July 1 to continue the treatment. None of the minor plaintiffs have started the therapy, according to the lawsuit, though all of them are planning to in the future. Two of the minors are taking puberty-blocking medication, the suit said.
Gender-affirming care spans a range of evidence-based treatments and approaches. The types of care vary by the age and goals of the recipient, and are considered the standard of care by many mainstream medical associations.
Enacting restrictions on gender-affirming care for trans youth has emerged as a key issue for conservatives, with at least 20 states having limited components of the care in recent years. When Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed SB 140 in March, he argued the law would “ensure we protect the health and wellbeing of Georgia’s children.”
CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.