Tim Griffin called the decision of the full Eighth Circuit to hear the appeal "historic." It's not good news for the plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU of Arkansas.
Two men with traditional views on the gender binary took the stand Tuesday to defend Act 626, despite plaintiff's protests that Mark Regnerus and Patrick Lappert have little to no pertinent experience or expertise. Only two more days of testimony are expected in the trial over whether state lawmakers' attempts to block doctors from providing gender-affirming medical care to minors is constitutional.
A psychiatrist said doctors can be too quick to prescribe puberty blockers and hormones to transgender youth, but acknowledged these treatments are sometimes appropriate and that he's even prescribed them himself. As a paid witness for the state in its attempt to defend a ban on gender-affirming medical care, Dr. Stephen Levine was mostly a bust.
A federal judge will hold a hearing next week on a request for a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of a new state ban on care for transgender children.