Federal judge strikes down Arkansas ban on transgender treatments for minors

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down Arkansas's ban on transgender-related treatments for minors, including hormone treatments, puberty blockers, or sex reassignment surgeries.

After previously issuing a temporary injunction on the ban, U.S. District Judge Jay Moody upgraded the block to a permanent injunction in the Tuesday order, according to the Associated Press.

Moody contended that the evidence had shown such treatments prove beneficial to their recipients and that the state's ban had worked against their wellbeing, saying "[r]ather than protecting children or safeguarding medical ethics, the evidence showed that the prohibited medical care improves the mental health and well-being of patients and that, by prohibiting it, the state undermined the interests it claims to be advancing."

At least 20 states have restricted or prohibited gender treatments for minors, though several of the bans have become mired in legal scrutiny, likely signaling that the matter will reach the Supreme Court. Arkansas's ban stood as the first in the nation.

Earlier in June, Florida's ban become the subject of a judicial block after Federal District Court Judge Robert Hinkle intervened, asserting that "gender identity is real."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.