Attorney General Kwame Raoul of Illinois led a coalition of 20 attorney generals in backing a legal challenge to Arkansas' prohibition of gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth. This group filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit supported a lower court ruling that invalidated Arkansas’ Act 626, a law that banned medical treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers for transgender teenagers. "Access to gender-affirming care is significant to transgender youth’s physical and mental health. It can even be lifesaving," Raoul emphasized in a statement obtained by the Illinois Attorney General's Office.
Act 626, which was passed by the Arkansas General Assembly on April 6, 2021, barred healthcare providers from delivering or referring transgender teenagers to such treatments. Providers who disobeyed the act risked losing their professional licenses and faced the threat of disciplinary action. The district court had earlier blocked the enforcement of the law through a permanent injunction, a move that Arkansas officials have since appealed. The coalition’s brief, which was reported by the Illinois Attorney General's Office, stresses that the law significantly harms the health and lives of transgender people by denying them medically necessary care.
Furthermore, the attorneys argue that the ban on gender-affirming care is discriminatory against transgender youth and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The brief points out that the law fails to acknowledge the positive effects of inclusive laws and policies on the well-being of transgender individuals. The coalition, which includes legal representatives from states ranging from California to New York, holds firm to the perspective that Arkansas' complete ban on this essential healthcare does not survive heightened scrutiny because it is not substantially related to the state's purported interests.
Attorney generals from the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, and numerous others joined Raoul in the legal filing. Their participation signifies a robust inter-state opposition to legislation that singles out and marginalizes already vulnerable populations, as outlined in the brief accessed via the Illinois Attorney General's Office.
