T.D. v. Wrigley:
Victory: Judge allows lawsuit against ND transgender health care ban to move forward
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2025
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Ruling paves the way for January 2025 trial, giving young transgender North Dakotans and their families a chance to be heard
Late yesterday, a North Dakota judge denied the state’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its ban on essential health care for transgender and nonbinary young people. This decision ensures the voices of three young transgender North Dakotans, their families, and their doctor will be heard when the case, T.D. v. Wrigley, goes to trial on January 27, 2025.
In a significant win for families challenging the law, the Court ruled that transgender young people receiving care prior to the ban’s enactment in April 2023 can continue to receive care in North Dakota. The upcoming trial will focus on the rights of those who were not receiving care prior to the ban’s enactment.
“The young people and families across North Dakota harmed by this law deserve their day in court, and they will get it,” said Brittany Stewart, senior staff attorney at Gender Justice and lead attorney for the plaintiffs. “We’re confident that once the overwhelming evidence of this law’s cruelty and unconstitutionality is presented, the court will vindicate the rights of all North Dakotans, including young transgender people, to access the health care they need.”
“Politicians have no place in deeply personal health care decisions and we are pleased our challenge is going to trial,” said Tanya Pellegrini, senior counsel at the Lawyering Project. “North Dakota has no business banning science-based health care and we are proud to continue to stand with these bold, brave families.”
Plaintiffs in the case, known as T.D. v. Wrigley, seek to block a state law that prohibits widely accepted, evidence-based, and often life-saving health services for transgender youth. Enacted in 2023, the law criminalizes the provision of hormone therapy and puberty blockers to transgender and nonbinary young people even though the exact same services remain legal for cisgender youth. Doctors face severe penalties, including up to 360 days in jail and $3,000 in fines, for providing this care to transgender patients.
Major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, endorse age-appropriate, gender-affirming care. Research from the American Medical Association shows that such care can reduce depression by 60% and self-harm and suicide risks by 73%.
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Gender Justice is a legal and policy advocacy organization dedicated to advancing gender equity through the law. Our vision is for a world where people of all genders, gender identities and expressions, and sexual orientations have the opportunity to thrive. We work towards our vision through impact litigation, advocacy, movement building, and public education.
The Lawyering Project uses the law to improve abortion access and uphold the rights and dignity of people seeking and providing abortion care. Our goal is a legal system that enables each of us to make decisions about intensely personal matters like sex, pregnancy, family, and health care based on our own beliefs and values—and ensures that we all have the resources we need to carry those decisions out.
Ciresi Conlin LLP is a law firm located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that cares about our clients and our communities and chooses cases that impact both.
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