A protestor wears the transgender flag as a large crowd gathers in front of the state Capitol in Oklahoma City on Feb. 3, 2025, to protest deportations and immigration enforcement in schools. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal appeals court has upheld Oklahoma’s ban on gender-affirming procedures for minors.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, which represents the region of Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, found Wednesday that the Oklahoma Legislature’s 2023 ban was not intended to discriminate against transgender children.
The unanimous ruling relied on a recent Supreme Court decision, United States v. Skrmetti, which upheld a similar Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
The Oklahoma Legislature passed the ban with Senate Bill 613 in May 2023. The law bans gender-affirming medical treatments for Oklahomans under 18 years old and creates a felony for health care providers who violate the ban.
A group of transgender youth, their families and a medical professional sued the state over the law with the support of Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma. The plaintiffs contended the ban violated their rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Oklahoma Attorney Gentner Drummond celebrated the decision in a statement Thursday and said he’s “grateful the battle is now won.”
“Thanks to this critical victory, our children will no longer be subjected to the lifelong consequences of these damaging procedures,” he said.
The Northern District of Oklahoma previously upheld the ban in October 2023, allowing the law to be enforced.
In a joint statement Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Oklahoma said they are considering next steps but will “never stop fighting” for the future of transgender people.
“Yesterday’s ruling is a devastating outcome for transgender youth and their families across Oklahoma and another tragic result of the Supreme Court’s errant and harmful ruling in Skrmetti,” the statement read. “Oklahoma’s ban is openly discriminatory and provably harmful to the transgender youth of this state, putting political dogma above parents, their children, and their family doctors.”
The ban “unjustly and unfairly” targets transgender youth and violates their rights, the statement said.
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