Appeal filed against North Dakota courts decision to uphold ban for medical care for transgender youth

NORTH DAKOTA (KVRR) — Attorneys from two nonprofit agencies, Gender Justice and The Lawyering Project, are appealing the Burleigh County District Court’s decision to uphold the state’s law.

Under the law, children under the age of 18 cannot receive any form of procedures or medications.

They argue the ban violates fundamental rights enshrined in the North Dakota state constitution.

Physicians who do not comply with this law can face up to 360 days in prison and $3,000 in fines for providing treatment.

“I think North Dakotans, including the judges, will see what happened here as a case of government overreach. Do we really want politicians deciding what kind of healthcare people can get? Their job is not to practice medicine. And so I don’t think anyone wants that to be applied to them,” said Jess Braverman, Legal Director at Gender Justice.

The case is one of several nationwide challenging bans on medical care.