LOUISVILLE, KY - The ACLU of Kentucky, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP today filed a motion for emergency relief in our transgender healthcare case. The motion asks the Court to lift the recently implemented stay, citing irreparable harm to our clients and other transgender minors in the commonwealth. Lifting the stay would stop the law from being implemented and allow transgender youth in Kentucky to continue to receive medically necessary care while the lawsuit makes its way through the courts.
Statement from Corey Shapiro, Legal Director, ACLU of Kentucky
“If the Sixth Circuit does not act on our emergency motion, SB 150 will cause the irreparable harm the preliminary injunction was intended to prevent. Kentucky doctors will be prohibited from continuing to provide appropriate, recommended, and necessary care to transgender minors, who will suffer severe psychological and physical harm as a result. We are asking the Sixth Circuit simply to allow transgender youth in Kentucky to continue to receive the very same medical care previously prescribed by their health care providers.”
Statement from Shannon Minter, Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights
“The Sixth Circuit has recognized that this case raises serious issues relating both to the law and to the health and well-being of transgender youth. There is no valid reason to change the status quo, which has been in place for decades, while this case proceeds. We are hopeful the Sixth Circuit will protect our Plaintiffs and their families and other transgender youth in this state from the severe harm of being abruptly cut off from medical care.”
The ACLU of Kentucky and our partners remain committed to protecting civil liberties for ALL Kentuckians.
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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kentucky is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislature, and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms. For additional information, visit our website at: www.aclu-ky.org.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a national legal organization committed to advancing the human and civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. Since its founding, NCLR has maintained a longstanding commitment to racial and economic justice and the LGBTQ community’s most vulnerable. www.nclrights.org.