Trans youths sue over Louisiana ban on gender-affirming care

Five Louisiana transgender minors and their families on Tuesday asked a judge to block the state’s ban on gender-affirming health care for youth under 18, arguing that the ban infringes on the right of parents to make health care decisions on behalf of their children and violates the constitutional rights of transgender young people.

“The Health Care Ban, on its face … deprives transgender adolescents and their parents of their right to equal protection of the laws,” states the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Louisiana district court.

The families are represented by Lambda Legal, the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School and the Louisiana law firm Schonekas, Evans, McGoey & McEachin.

“Growing up, I was intensely self-conscious of my body, which led to a near-constant state of discomfort,” said plaintiff Max Moe in a statement. “Oftentimes I was incredibly uncomfortable and anxious and even found it hard to talk.”

Having access to hormone replacement therapy has been life-changing, Moe, who is identified in court filings by a pseudonym, said Tuesday.

“This health care has allowed me to be happy, healthy, and my true authentic self — the boy I know I am. I am terrified of what the Health Care Ban will do and worry about how my mental health might deteriorate,” he said.

Under House Bill 648, which took effect Jan. 1, health care providers in Louisiana are prohibited from administering gender-affirming treatments — including puberty blockers, hormones and surgeries — to transgender minors under the threat of having their professional licenses revoked.

The bill hurdled several obstacles on the way to becoming law, including a successful effort to kill it in the state Senate. It was given a second chance at life after Louisiana Senate Republicans, who have a supermajority in the upper chamber, took the rare step of recommitting the bill to another committee, where it overwhelmingly passed.

Former Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, in June vetoed the bill, which he said is part of a “targeted assault on children” in a 6-page veto message to former state House Speaker Clay Schexnayder (R). Louisiana lawmakers overturned Edwards’ veto in July.

New Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, the former state attorney general, has expressed support for the ban.

Gender-affirming health care for transgender minors and adults is considered safe, effective and medically necessary by every major medical organization, although not every trans person chooses to medically transition or has access to care.

Medications including puberty blockers and hormones are not recommended for children that have not begun puberty, according to guidelines set by the World Professional Association of Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society, and most surgeries are reserved for trans adults over 18.

Including Louisiana, 23 states have enacted laws or policies that heavily restrict or ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. In states including Florida, Missouri and Ohio, restrictions also apply to adults.