North Dakota’s highest court has upheld a state ban on cosmetic sex-change surgeries and puberty-blocking drugs for minors who identify as the opposite sex. In a unanimous decision last Thursday, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled in the case of T.D. v. Wrigley to uphold a law passed in 2023 that bans trans treatments for children.
North Dakota Justice Douglas Bahr authored the opinion, writing that the law, also known as House Bill 1254, did not violate the state constitution, which is silent on the issue. “Although times have changed, the meaning of the constitution has not,” wrote Bahr.
“Defining a fundamental right by a modern medical diagnosis or procedure, as some courts have done, forecloses recognition of a fundamental right because the diagnosis or procedure could not be shown to be deeply rooted in history and tradition.” “The plain language of Article I, § 1 [of the state constitution] does not mention a minor’s right to determine the minor’s medical care.” Jess Braverman, legal director at Gender Justice, an LGBT advocacy group that helped represent the plaintiffs, released a statement denouncing the state Supreme Court ruling.
“This ruling is devastating for transgender youth and their families in North Dakota — and it should worry every North Dakotan who believes private medical decisions should be made by families in consultation with their trusted medical providers, not by politicians,” Braverman stated.
“If the North Dakota Constitution does not ban the government from interfering with North Dakotans’ private medical decisions, then all North Dakotans are vulnerable to the whims of politicians when it comes to their ability to access life and health preserving medical care.” Jonathan Scruggs, senior counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group that filed an amicus brief supporting the law, celebrated the high court decision.