A federal judge allowed a Georgia law banning hormonal interventions for transgender youth to take effect earlier this week, in order to comply with a federal court ruling last month.
On August 21, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower court’s injunction blocking state authorities from enforcing a similar law in Alabama.
In a decision criticized by LGBTQ advocates, Circuit Judge Barbara Lagoa, a Trump appointee, ruled that the district court had applied the wrong standard when determining whether to issue an injunction blocking the law.
Lagoa argued that there is no constitutional right of parents to “treat [one’s] children with transitioning medications subject to medically accepted standards,” as argued by plaintiffs.
This comes even though the Supreme Court, in numerous other legal battles, has ruled parents possess a fundamental right to raise their children as they see fit.
As a result of Lagoa’s opinion, the Alabama law was allowed to go into effect. State authorities can punish doctors who prescribe gender-affirming treatments to minors suffering from gender dysphoria.
Given the 11th Circuit’s jurisdiction over Georgia, it was only a matter of time before the courts allowed authorities in the Peach State to enforce a nearly identical law — which technically went into effect on July 1 — barring those under age 18 from accessing gender-affirming treatments.
On September 5, U.S. District Judge Sarah Geraghty, of the Northern District of Georgia, issued an order pausing an injunction she issued on the day prior to the 11th Circuit’s decision.
In issuing that initial injunction, Geraghty found that a group of four transgender plaintiffs and their parents would suffer “irreparable harm” if the law were not halted while its constitutionality is debated in the courts.
Following the 11th Circuit’s decision, Geraghty paused the injunction, but refused — despite the protestations of proponents of the law — to completely vacate the injunction, reports The Hill.
As a result, Georgia can now discipline and potentially pull the medical licenses of practitioners who prescribe gender-affirming treatments to minors, including surgical and hormonal interventions.
Georgia’s law does contain a limited exception for youth who have already started hormone therapy by allowing them to continue their course of treatment, but bars new patients from accessing those same treatments.
And, hypocritically, Georgia’s law — which echoes similar legislation passed in 21 other states — also permits doctors to prescribe hormonal treatments and perform surgeries on intersex youth in order to “force” their bodies to conform to a binary gender expression or appearance.
In July, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed a ban on gender-affirming care in Tennessee to take effect, ruling that a lower court judge applied the wrong legal standard in issuing an injunction blocking the law. That ruling was subsequently applied to overturn an injunction blocking a similar Kentucky law from being enforced.
Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has pledged to make New York City a sanctuary city for transgender people.
In a new campaign ad honoring Latina trans activist Sylvia Rivera -- a pioneering figure in the early LGBTQ rights movement -- Mamdani sits at a desk near the Christopher Street Pier in Greenwich Village, recounting Rivera’s life and the pier’s significance as a haven for LGBTQ people in the city.
As photos and video clips of Rivera and other activists flash across the screen, Mamdani recounts her legacy of activism -- from her role in early gay and trans rights demonstrations to founding Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, which provided food and shelter for homeless trans people, and her push for LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination laws.
A federal judge says she plans to issue a preliminary injunction blocking a Trump administration policy that would cut funding for sex education programs, including so-called "gender ideology." The announcement came during a conference call with state attorneys and federal officials.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order barring schools from engaging in what it calls the "social transition" of transgender youth -- meaning any recognition of gender identity as distinct from biological sex, including using a student’s chosen name or pronouns or making accommodations based on gender identity.
A Woburn, Massachusetts couple lost their foster license after refusing to sign a Department of Children and Families (DCF) form requiring them to support gender-affirming care for LGBTQ youth.
Lydia and Heath Marvin, whose license was revoked in April 2025, had fostered eight children under the age of four since 2020. The couple said their religious beliefs prevented them from promising a "safe, affirming, and discrimination-free environment" for LGBTQ children.
"We asked, is there any sort of accommodation, can you waive this at all?" Lydia told CBS Boston. "We simply can't agree to go against our Christian faith in this area."
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