Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has joined a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general opposing laws in Kentucky and Tennessee that severely limit transgender youths' access to critical healthcare, per a press release.
The amicus brief supports blocking Tennessee and Kentucky senate bills that restrict medical treatment for transgender minors seeking gender-affirming care. In the brief, Raoul and the coalition stress the importance of gender-affirming care for the health and well-being of transgender youth.
"Restricting gender-affirming care jeopardizes the physical and mental health of transgender youth," Raoul said. "Transgender youth deserve access to gender-affirming care, and I am committed to ensuring they are not denied those rights."
Enacted in March 2023, Tennessee's Senate Bill 1 and Kentucky's SB 150 aim at banning transgender minors' access to medical treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers that help treat gender dysphoria.
Joining Raoul in filing the amicus brief are attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
—Andrew Davis
