Teen: Arkansas trans care law could force him to uproot life
An Arkansas teenager who is receiving hormone therapy says a state ban on such treatments could force he and his family to leave the sate
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Testifying at the nation's first trial over a state ban on gender affirming care for children, 17-year-old Dylan Brandt said Wednesday that his life has been transformed by the hormone therapy he's receiving and banning the treatment in Arkansas could force his family to leave.
Brandt, his mother and the mother of another transgender child were among the final witnesses as opponents of Arkansas' law wrapped up their case in federal court. Brandt and his mother said their family may have to move from their home in west Arkansas to another state if the law is upheld.
“It would mean uprooting our entire lives, everything that we have here," Brandt said.
U.S. District Judge Jay Moody, who is hearing the case, last year temporarily blocked the law, which would prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18 years old. It also would prevent doctors from referring patients elsewhere for such care.
