A new law banning gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth in Oklahoma has led to a lawsuit filed by a gender-affirming care doctor and five families with transgender teens. The families and Dr. Shauna Lawlis of Oklahoma University, along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the law firm Jenner & Block LLP, have challenged Oklahoma’s S.B. 613 as a violation of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, which protects citizens from unequal application of laws.
S.B. 613 bans all forms of gender-affirming health care, including reversible puberty blockers, for anyone under the age of 18. It also makes it a felony for doctors to provide this care to trans youth and allows prosecution of health care professionals until their patients turn 45. Oklahoma is one of at least 16 states to have instituted a gender-affirming care ban.
The trans teens, given aliases in the lawsuit, have been thriving with the loving support of their parents and access to medically necessary care and treatments for their gender dysphoria. The teens have increased confidence, are more active in their communities, and have less fear of being misgendered. If S.B. 613 stands, the teens will be forced to de-transition, risking their mental health and well-being, the lawsuit says.
The ban passed despite the sustained and robust opposition of medical experts in Oklahoma and across the country. Gender-affirming care is considered safe and often essential to the well-being of trans youth, backed by major healthcare groups such as the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the World Health Organization.
During legislative hearings on a proposed gender-affirming healthcare ban, state Rep. Jim Olsen (R) made disparaging remarks about trans identity and said that trans teens need biblical guidance rather than gender-affirming care. State Rep. Justin Humphrey (R) compared gender-affirming care to starving a child to death.
The lawsuit’s defendants include the state’s attorney general and officials with OU, state medical licensing boards, and the University Hospitals Authority and Trust, a state entity that oversees university medical centers. If the ban is allowed to stand, the teens’ families are considering leaving their jobs, businesses, extended families, and communities to relocate to states where their children can access gender-affirming care at a great personal and financial cost.
Lambda Legal counsel and healthcare strategist Omar Gonzalez-Pagan said, “Based on nothing but animus towards transgender people and a campaign of misinformation and disinformation, Oklahoma officials have decided to prohibit the provision of necessary, safe, and effective evidence-based medical care for trans adolescents in Oklahoma.” The lawsuit, along with recent censures and threats against the LGBTQ+ community in Oklahoma, has sparked a larger conversation about trans rights and healthcare access.