Federal judge hearing arguments over Indiana's ban on gender-affirming care for minors

A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit seeking to block an Indiana law banning doctors from providing puberty blockers, hormones and gender-affirming surgeries to minors. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana has asked the judge in Indianapolis for a preliminary injunction that would stop the law from taking effect July 1. The group filed its lawsuit on behalf of four transgender youth and an Indiana doctor who provides transgender medical treatment just hours after Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill on April 5. The organization argues the ban violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection guarantees and federal laws regarding essential medical services.