Updated to reflect Attorney General Raúl Labrador's statement.
After a legal back and forth, the Idaho law banning gender-affirming health care treatments for minors remains blocked as the case against it continues to make its way through the courts.
House Bill 71 would prevent Idaho physicians from providing gender affirming treatment - such as hormone replacement, puberty blockers and gender confirmation surgery - to people under the age of 18.
The law was slated to go into effect on Jan.uary 1st, 2024 but in December, District Court Judge Lynn Winmill issued a preliminary injunction, ruling it violated the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The ruling came as part of a case filed by the ACLU on behalf of two Idaho families saying the law violates the constitutional rights of trans youth and their parents. The State of Idaho asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Wiynmill’s decision pending an appeal.
On Tuesday, the Court denied the state’s request and the preliminary injunction preventing the law from going into effect remains.
In a press release, ACLU attorney Li Nowlin-Sohl said they welcomed the latest ruling.
“HB 71 and every ban like it are a dangerous attempt to discriminate against transgender youth, subvert the rights of their parents, and threaten the freedom and well-being of the very people this law claims to protect,” Nowlin-Sohl wrote .
The Attorney General’s office did not answer a request for comment by the time of publication.
In an email, Attorney General Raúl Labrador responded, mentioning another injunction against House Bill 242, Idaho's so called "Abortion Trafficking Law."
“This is not the first time we have had to deal with an unreasoned Ninth Circuit order,” Labrador said. “We successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the Ninth Circuit’s most recent one involving the Defense of Life Act, and we will work to have these two erroneous decisions corrected as well.”
