Georgia judge reverses her decision to block gender-affirming care ban & lets it take effect

Days after blocking a gender-affirming care ban in Georgia, a judge has decided to reinstate it based on an 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Alabama allowing a similar ban to take effect.

In her August decision, Judge Sarah Geraghty ruled that the transgender children who sought the injunction on Georgia’s Senate Bill 140, signed into law in March, faced “imminent risks” from the ban, including anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts.

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The singer neither disavowed her comments nor clarified her views on trans minors’ right to receive necessary healthcare.

Geraghty said at the time those risks outweighed any harm to the state from an injunction, but the federal ruling, issued just a day after her own decision, supersedes those concerns.

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The 11th Circuit’s jurisdiction includes Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.

The panel’s ruling said Alabama can implement its ban on the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat transgender minors, and found states have “a compelling interest in protecting children from drugs, particularly those for which there is uncertainty regarding benefits, recent surges in use, and irreversible effects.”

Puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy have been available in the U.S. for decades and are considered standard treatments for gender dysphoria. The therapies are backed by major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association.

Following the 11th Circuit ruling, Georgia’s Republican attorney general Chris Carr urged Judge Geraghty to vacate her injunction.

Instead, Geraghty put it on hold, explaining that while it “rests on legal grounds that have been squarely rejected by the panel” in the Alabama ruling, further appeals underway in Georgia could mean a possible rehearing of the law.

A spokesperson for Carr said he will “continue fighting to protect the health and well-being of Georgia’s children”.

Two dozen U.S. states have introduced legislation to ban or restrict gender-affirming care for minors.

Last week a Texas judge blocked the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, before the Texas Supreme Court allowed it to go into effect September 1.

The Texas ban, like similar legislation in red states, continues to be challenged in court.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. The Trans Lifeline (1-877-565-8860) is staffed by trans people and will not contact law enforcement. The Trevor Project provides a safe, judgement-free place to talk for youth via chat, text (678-678), or phone (1-866-488-7386). Help is available at all three resources in English and Spanish.