INDIANAPOLIS — "Disappointing" and "heartbreaking" are two words the ACLU shared in a statement about Indiana's new ruling banning the state's gender-affirming care.
On Tuesday, a federal appeals court lifted a lower court's injunction. The law had been set to go into effect July 1 but is now in effect.
"We're saying that, if you're under 18, you're not going to get those irreversible surgeries in the state of Indiana, nor are you going to get hormone treatments," Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said.
Rokita said the law is about protecting children, but some families see it differently.
In April of last year, 13News spoke with Beth and Nathanial Clawson.
Their 10-year old daughter, Kirin, had been identifying as a girl since she was 3, receiving care at Riley Hospital for Children.
"Our child has been living as her true self for the past seven years. The idea of her going through the wrong puberty is terrifying for her and terrifying for us," Beth said.
The ACLU of Indiana had filed a lawsuit on behalf of four transgender youth and their families — including the Clawsons — as well as a doctor and health care clinic.
In June 2023, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction that blocked the law.
After Tuesday's ruling, the ACLU released a statement reading, in part:
"... we want all the transgender youth of Indiana to know this fight is far from over and we will continue to challenge this law until it is permanently defeated and Indiana is made a safer place to raise every family."
Rokita said challenging the law is something he's expecting.
"If those parents are so set on affirming something that could very well be a phase in their kids' life and they want to go have that torturous surgery, do it outside the state of Indiana," Rokita said.
This is something many families may now be forced to do to protect their children.