The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled 2-1 on Monday that Kentucky’s ban on minor access for cross-sex procedures, like administering puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, can continue.
The same court recently ruled to allow a Tennessee ban on cross-sex procedures for minors to continue as well, and wrote (pdf) that the same factors applied in this case.
“Plaintiffs argue that because some Kentucky officials disagree with the ban, Kentucky’s interest in enforcing the ban is weaker than Tennessee’s. But the fact that some officials disagree with the ban does not change the analysis. As a sovereign state, Kentucky has an interest in creating and enforcing its own laws,” the ruling reads.
“The people of Kentucky enacted the ban through their legislature. That body—not the officials who disagree with the ban—sets the Commonwealth’s policies.”
Both of the state laws had been blocked by a lower court, with the 6th Circuit lifting those blocks temporarily ahead of its Sept. 30 ruling.
Given that the success of the cases on merit was factored into the court’s decision to lift the blocks, it is possible that Tennessee and Kentucky will likely continue to prohibit cross-sex procedures for minors beyond September.
