A federal court on Tuesday ruled that Arkansas can enforce its ban on sex changes for minors, citing the Supreme Court’s June ruling upholding a similar law in Tennessee.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ultimately reversed a lower court decision that struck down the 2021 law, which was the first of its kind in the nation. Arkansas’s Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act, enacted by the state legislature over the governor’s veto, bars sex change drugs and surgeries for individuals under 18 years old and prohibits health care professionals from referring minors for those procedures.
Four families of transgender-identifying children and two doctors challenged the law in 2021 after its passage, arguing that it violates the First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause by discriminating on the basis of sex and transgender status.
Judge Duane Benton, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, disagreed with that assessment, ruling instead that the law turns on the basis of age and medical procedure. Carson cited the Supreme Court’s June decision in United States v. Skrmetti upholding a similar law in Tennessee.
“Because the district court rested its permanent injunction on incorrect conclusions of law, it abused its discretion,” Benton wrote. “The judgment is reversed and the case remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
In the Tennessee case, the Supreme Court ruled that the state law did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment. The High Court additionally said the law meets the “rational basis inquiry” and noted: “Where there exist plausible reasons for the relevant government action, our inquiry is at an end.”
Benton noted that “Arkansas has a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological health of minors.”
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin (R) celebrated the ruling in a post to X.
“I applaud the court’s decision and am pleased that children in Arkansas will be protected from experimental procedures,” Griffin said.
Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, one of the groups that represented plaintiffs in the case, called the ruling a “tragically unjust result for transgender Arkansans.”
“The state had every opportunity and failed at every turn to prove that this law helps children; in fact, this is a dangerous law that harms children. The law has already had a profound impact on families across Arkansas who all deserve a fundamental right to do what is best for their children,” Dickson said. “As we and our clients consider our next steps, we want transgender Arkansans to know they are far from alone and we remain as determined as ever to secure their right to safety, dignity, and equal access to the health care they need.”
Last week, another federal appeals court rejected a challenge to a similar law in Oklahoma, also citing the Supreme Court’s Skrmetti decision.
The case is Brandt v. Griffin, No. 23-2681 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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