The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed a lower court ruling that temporarily blocked a state law prohibiting transition-related health care for minors.
The suit, which was filed by two transgender teens and their families, as well as two providers of transition-related care, will now go to trial before Missoula County District Court Judge Jason Marks, who initially blocked the law in September 2023.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ legal advocacy group, which are representing the teens and providers, said the decision was a victory for the state’s trans youths.
“Fortunately, the Montana Supreme Court understands the danger of the state interfering with critical healthcare,” Kell Olson, an attorney for Lambda Legal, said in a statement. “Because Montana’s constitutional protections are even stronger than their federal counterparts, transgender youth in Montana can sleep easier tonight knowing that they can continue to thrive for now, without this looming threat hanging over their heads.”
Chase Scheuer, press secretary for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, said the office looks forward to “defending the case on its merits, which will include recent scientific developments ignored by this court.”
“The Supreme Court has abandoned Montanans once again to rule in favor of their out-of-state political allies,” Scheuer said in an emailed statement. “In upholding the district court’s flawed decision to temporarily block a duly enacted law, the Supreme Court put the wellbeing of children — who have yet to reach puberty — at risk by allowing experimental treatments that could leave them to deal with serious and irreversible consequences for the rest of their lives to continue.”
