A 2023 Idaho law, HB 71, Idaho Vulnerable Child Protection Act, criminalizing gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, was recently challenged in federal court by two transgender adolescents and their families. See Labrador v. Poe, F Supp. 3d (2023). The law makes it a felony punishable for up to 10 years for doctors to provide surgeries, puberty-blockers and hormones to transgender people under the age of 18.

The plaintiffs claimed, inter alia, that the law was unconstitutional because it discriminates based on sex and transgender status. According to the pleadings, the gender-affirming care the adolescent plaintiffs were receiving has improved their mental health and enabled them to become “thriving teenagers.” Widely accepted to treat gender dysphoria, helping alleviate the distress of gender dysphoria and significantly improving patients’ mental health and well-being, this medical care is supported the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and countless others.