Judge allows Georgia to resume enforcing ban on hormone replacement therapy for transgender youth

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday allowed Georgia to resume enforcing a ban on hormone replacement therapy for transgender people under 18.

Judge Sarah Geraghty put her previous order blocking the ban on hold after a federal appeals court allowed Alabama to enforce a similar restriction.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that Alabama can implement a ban on the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat transgender children. The 11th Circuit includes Georgia.

Its ruling came a day after Geraghty issued a preliminary injunction blocking Georgia’s hormone therapy restriction.

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Attorneys for Georgia had asked her to vacate the preliminary injunction in light of the 11th Circuit decision.

The Georgia law, Senate Bill 140, allows doctors to prescribe puberty-blocking medications, and it allows minors who are already receiving hormone therapy to continue. But it bans any new patients under 18 from starting hormone therapy. It also bans most gender-affirming surgeries for transgender people under 18.

It took effect July 1. Geraghty granted a preliminary injunction blocking it on Aug. 20. The injunction was sought by several transgender children, parents and a community organization in a lawsuit challenging the ban.

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