North Dakota Supreme Court upholds ban on gender-related medical procedures for minors

The North Dakota Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a state law that restricts certain medical procedures for minors. In the case of T. D. v. Wrigley, the court ruled 5-0 that the state has the authority to regulate medical practices to protect the welfare of minors.

The law, HB 1254, classifies performing gender-related surgeries on children as a felony and prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy for gender confusion as a misdemeanor. The court stated it is not the judiciary's role to resolve medical debates regarding the safety or effectiveness of these procedures, nor to establish a fundamental right to them.

Justice Douglas Bahr delivered the decision, noting that the state's constitution must be applied as understood by the people who adopted it at the time of statehood. The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by a pediatric endocrinologist and several families who argued that minors have a right to these medical treatments.