Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, urging the Court to affirm a district court ruling granting a permanent injunction against an Arkansas law banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
Plaintiffs in Brandt et al. v. Griffin are suing to block Arkansas’ Act 626, which prohibits transgender youth from accessing medical treatment, such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria. In the amicus brief, the coalition argues that Arkansas’ ban on gender-affirming care violates equal protection and stresses the importance of gender-affirming care for the health and well-being of transgender youth.
“I am proud to join my multistate colleagues in this call to affirm that Arkansas’ law banning gender-affirming care for our transgender youth should be struck down,” said AG Campbell. “My office will continue to support initiatives to safeguard and advance access to crucial gender-affirming care and strengthen legal protections for our vulnerable transgender community.”
On April 6, 2021, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 626, which bans healthcare providers from providing gender-affirming treatment to transgender teenagers and even providing referrals for such treatment. Under the law, healthcare providers who failed to comply could lose their professional license and be at risk of professional discipline. On July 21, 2021, a district court granted a motion for a preliminary injunction blocking the law, and in August, the court enjoined the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office from enforcing any provision of the Act during litigation of the case. Following affirmance of the preliminary injunction, the District Court proceeded to hold a bench trial on the merits, where plaintiffs prevailed again when the District Court permanently enjoined Arkansas’ law. Nevertheless, Arkansas’ officials appealed the court’s final decision. The brief supports the plaintiffs in that appeal, defending the district court’s previous decision invalidating the law.
Many transgender teens suffer from gender dysphoria, which results from the incongruence between their gender identity and sex assigned at birth. Gender dysphoria has been found to cause severe distress and anxiety, depression, fatigue, decreased social functioning, substance misuse, and decreased quality of life. Among transgender people, suicide attempts are nine times more common than in the overall U.S. population. Those risks are even higher among transgender youth.
Through the amicus brief, the coalition supported the plaintiffs’ defense of the prior court order invalidating the Act, arguing that the law:
- Significantly harms the health and lives of transgender people by denying them medically necessary care that protects their physical, emotional, and psychological health.
- Is discriminatory and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by banning medical treatment for transgender youth based on their sex and on their gender identity.
- Fails to recognize how inclusive laws and policies — such as those in California — have benefited transgender individuals.
- Does not withstand heightened scrutiny because a complete ban on medically necessary healthcare is not substantially related to Arkansas’ asserted interests.