Federal judge blocks new Georgia law banning hormone therapy for transgender children

ATLANTA — A federal court judge has issued an injunction to halt Georgia’s new transgender health law Sunday.

According to the court document obtained by Channel 2 Action News, the motion was granted to halt part of the law until a trial can determine whether or not it is constitutional.

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The law bans doctors from treating children with hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgery in Georgia. Under the law, transgender children receiving these medical procedures could continue, but no new children can begin those procedures.

What the judge issued is not a total injunction. The ban on surgery is still in place. The injunction only stops the law from preventing hormone therapy for transgender kids.

Channel 2′s Richard Elliot has been following developments in the transgender care law, passed during this legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp in March.

A lawsuit, which was filed against members of the Georgia Department of Community Health and the Georgia Composite Medical Board, asked a federal judge to put the law on hold before it could take effect.

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Plaintiffs who filed the suit say the law violates parents’ rights to make medical decisions in the best interest of their children, and it “singles out transgender minors for the denial of essential medical care.”

Cordele Republican state Sen. Carden Summers wrote the law and defended it in March, insisting it was about protecting children, not about politics.

“We’re not trying to do anything. We’re just trying to protect the children. That was the bill’s intent, and that’s where we’re at,” Summers said.

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Attorney Ed Buckley represents one of the families suing the state. He said the court needs to strike down this law.

“It interferes with a parent’s right to govern their children’s medical care, for one, which is a pretty substantial right,” Buckley said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Federal judge to make decision about whether or not to issue injunction over transgender law That law prohibits healthcare professionals from performing certain medical procedures on transgender children.

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