KENTUCKY TODAY

The ACLU of Kentucky and its partner organizations have filed a motion to halt the enforcement of legislation approved by the 2023 General Assembly that limits transgender ideology in public schools and prohibits “gender reassignment” procedures on minors.

The measure is scheduled to take effect June 29, and the ACLU, along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, says the motion, filed on Monday, asks the court to prohibit implementation of Senate Bill 150, until the lawsuit filed at U.S. District Court in Louisville is decided.

In the filing, the ACLU and their partners state, the bill is “nothing more than egregious government overreach. By inserting themselves into the personal medical decisions of trans youth and their health care providers, lawmakers are violating the fundamental rights and freedoms of parents to direct the upbringing of their children.”

Corey Shapiro, legal director for the ACLU of Kentucky, said, “Banning medically necessary care for trans youth is not supported by science or reputable major medical organizations. These are merely political attacks from groups with a fundamental opposition to transgender people being able to live openly, freely, and affirmed as who they really are.”

David Walls of the Family Foundation calls the lawsuit legally and morally flawed.

“SB 150 was duly enacted by the Kentucky General Assembly,” Walls said, “and its commonsense protections further the commonwealth’s important governmental interests in safeguarding the health and safety of minors, upholding a parent’s duty and right to protect their child’s body and limbs from physical harm, and ensuring the integrity of the medical profession – any decision to interfere with its enforcement will constitute an act of judicial activism that will allow children to be harmed.”

After the bill was approved by both the House and Senate, it was vetoed by Gov. Andy Beshear, for reasons similar to those in the ACLU lawsuit. However, both chambers voted to override the governor’s veto on votes that were nearly identical to the initial passage.