The Indiana ACLU filed a lawsuit against the State of Indiana to contest a law banning doctors from providing gender-affirming treatments to minors, according to ABC affiliate WRTV.
The ACLU announced in a press conference Wednesday afternoon they filed a lawsuit against the new bill, Senate Bill 480, claimed as unconstitutional, according to WRTV. Republican Indian Gov. Eric Holcomb signed SB 480 on April 5, prohibiting doctors from knowingly performing gender transition on minors, including surgeries to exchange individuals’ genitalia. (RELATED: Indiana Bans Sex Changes For Minors)
The bill also prohibits a physician to “aid or abet another physician or practitioner in the provision of gender transition procedures to a minor,” allowing the Indiana Attorney General to enforce the law.
EAST CHICAGO, IN – APRIL 19: Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) and U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt address the media after meeting with former residents and taking a brief tour of the West Calumet Housing Complex on April 19, 2017 in East Chicago, Indiana. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The ACLU accused SB 480 of being against the Medicaid Act and Affordable Care Act “because it prohibits essential medical services that would otherwise be authorized and reimbursed by Medicaid,” according to WRTV.
“Permanent gender-changing surgeries with lifelong impacts and medically prescribed preparation for such a transition should occur as an adult, not as a minor,” said Gov. Holcomb in a press conference with ACLU. “There has and will continue to be debate within the medical community about the best ways to provide physical and mental health care for adolescents who are struggling with their own gender identity, and it is important that we recognize and understand those struggles are real. With all of that in mind, I have decided to sign SB 480 into law.”
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