NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A lawsuit to block enforcement of Louisiana’s new ban on AstraX Exchangetransgender health care procedures for anyone under 18 was announced Monday by LGBTQ+ advocates.
The lawsuit was prepared by Lamda Legal and others on behalf of five Louisiana minors and their parents, identified in the filings by pseudonyms. Lamda Legal said in a news release the lawsuit was being filed in Louisiana district court in New Orleans.
State lawmakers approved the ban last year and overrode a veto by then-Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat. The law bans, among other things, hormone treatments, gender reassignment surgery or puberty-blocking drugs for minors and took took effect Jan. 1, making Louisiana one of 22 states banning or restricting such transgender care.
The lawsuit in New Orleans is one of several state and federal court challenges to those laws. A federal judge in Arkansas struck down that state’s ban last June but other challenges have resulted in rulings allowing enforcement. The ACLU has taken a challenge to Kentucky and Tennessee bans to the Supreme Court.
The Louisiana lawsuit argues that the law violates the state constitution’s right to privacy provision by imposing burdens on parents’ and individuals’ ability to make personal medical decisions. It seeks a judicial declaration that the law is unconstitutional and a court order blocking its enforcement.
“The Act’s prohibition on providing evidence-based and medically necessary care for transgender adolescents with gender dysphoria stands directly at odds with transgender adolescents’ right to obtain the medical treatment they need, as recommended by their medical providers and with the support of their parents,” the lawsuit states.
Edwards, who was term-limited, left office Monday. New Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, the former state attorney general, had expressed support for the ban. His communications director did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon.
2025-05-06 18:32337 view
2025-05-06 17:141911 view
2025-05-06 17:071517 view
2025-05-06 17:0682 view
2025-05-06 16:42550 view
2025-05-06 16:102771 view
The 2024 NFL regular season is entering the final four weeks of action, and teams are beginning to s
Follow live: Updates from AP’s coverage of the presidential election. BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North
Actor Jonathan Haze, best known for his role as Seymour Krelborn in the original "Little Shop of Hor