Court fights are ramping up over states’ transgender health care restrictions

By ANDREW DeMILLO
Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Courts nationwide are delivering a mixed verdict on the future of laws restricting gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. Legal battles have ramped up over the restrictions, following a historic wave of laws targeting transgender people’s rights. New rulings on the bans may be imminent in Florida, Missouri and Texas in the coming week. A federal appeals court panel allowed Alabama to enforce its ban on the medical care for youth, the day after a federal judge partially blocked that state’s ban. At least 22 states have enacted laws banning or restricting gender-affirming care, and most of the laws face court challenges.