ACLU: Lawsuit likely if Nebraska bill on trans health passes

By MARGERY A. BECK
Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union says that parents and children likely to be affected by a Nebraska bill to ban gender-affirming treatments for minors are preparing for a legal fight if it’s enacted. That comes after the bill cleared its first and toughest hurdle this week when lawmakers advanced it on a largely party-line vote. The bill would outlaw gender-affirming therapies such as hormone treatments and gender reassignment surgery for those 18 and younger. It would also ban Nebraska doctors from referring minors to other providers for treatment. A nearly identical measure in Arkansas was temporarily shut down by a federal judge in 2021, and the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that injunction.