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Economic Times
12 hours ago
- Health
- Economic Times
Alberta court halts ban on gender affirming care for youth as Premier vows to fight decision
Live Events Why this matters (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel A judge's decision last week to temporarily block Alberta 's new law banning gender-affirming care for youth under 16 has sparked a deep and emotional debate, one that centers not just on legal arguments, but on the real lives of vulnerable young Allison Kuntz granted the injunction, warning that halting access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy could inflict 'irreparable harm,' including forcing children through irreversible physical changes that don't align with their identity. 'The evidence shows that singling out health care for gender diverse youth will cause irreparable harm,' she wrote. Premier Danielle Smith countered forcefully during her radio show on June 28, stating, 'I feel there will be irreparable harm to children who get sterilized at the age of 10; we want those kids to have their day in court.' She emphasized the government's strategy as a precaution: preserving fertility until adulthood and cautioning against premature 'life-altering decisions.' The Premier described her approach as 'solid, measured, evidence-based—and on the side of kids.' Behind the courtroom rhetoric are dozens of health-care professionals and families urging Alberta to reconsider. Doctors explain that puberty blockers, used since the 1980s, even for cisgender children, are reversible and often life-saving. Studies show they reduce long-term mental health risks when started at ages 14– youth advocacy groups agree. Bennett Jensen of Egale Canada, which helped initiate the court challenge alongside the Skipping Stone Foundation, said the injunction provides 'huge relief' for the five youth (ages 6–11) named in the case. NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi celebrated the court's decision as 'a great day for young Albertans who simply want to live authentically and safely,' calling the law 'demonizing vulnerable kids'.Federal Health Minister Mark Holland called the policy 'deeply disturbing,' warning it risks children's safety and urged dialogue with Alberta's government . Alberta's legislation, first introduced in late 2024, was part of a larger package also affecting school pronouns and trans inclusion in sports. It passed the legislature in December but awaited full legal battle now moves upward. The court injunction offers temporary protection, but the core question of whether provincial governments can bar access to gender-affirming care without violating the Charter of Rights will be decided by a higher court.
Edmonton Journal
a day ago
- Health
- Edmonton Journal
Alberta transgender health-care bill blocked as judge issues temporary injunction
Article content EDMONTON — An Alberta judge has put on hold a provincial law that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming care to youth. Justice Allison Kuntz, in a written judgment Friday, said the law raises serious Charter issues that need to be hashed out in court, and issued a temporary injunction against it before it fully came into effect. Kuntz wrote that a temporary stop is needed while the issue is debated. Article content 'The evidence shows that singling out health care for gender diverse youth and making it subject to government control will cause irreparable harm to gender diverse youth by reinforcing the discrimination and prejudice that they are already subjected to,' Kuntz wrote in the judgment. 'Intentionally or not, the ban will signal that there is something wrong with or suspect about having a gender identity that is different than the sex you were assigned at birth.' The law, passed late last year but not fully in effect, bans doctors from providing treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to those under 16. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups Egale Canada and the Skipping Stone Foundation — as well as five transgender youth who would be affected by the law — took the province to court the same month it passed. In the Friday decision, Kuntz wrote that denying treatment risks causing youth emotional harm and exposing them to permanent physical changes that don't match their gender identity. Article content The government, according to the decision, argued that claims of harm were speculative considering the law wasn't fully in effect, and that the treatments the law seeks to ban aren't scientifically supported. Kuntz wrote that the advocacy groups also submitted scientific evidence on the treatments that support their perspectives, but the injunction hearings weren't the appropriate stage to determine which side's evidence stood taller. Kuntz, however, largely sided with the advocacy group's evidence in her decision. She wrote that the government's scientific evidence wasn't 'so overwhelming' as to prevent a finding that the youth's human rights are being infringed upon. The province also argued that the law didn't cause the psychological harm facing the youth involved in the case, but it was a result of going through puberty. Article content 'The starting point for an alleged harm might not be caused by government action, but government action may impact an individual's ability to address the harm in a way that infringes their Charter rights and causes further harm,' Kuntz wrote in response to that argument. Egale's legal director Bennett Jensen said Friday that the decision was a 'huge relief.' '(The legislation) does not solve any real issues in the medical system,' Jensen said in an interview. 'It simply creates them and targets an already very vulnerable, small group of young people with further discrimination, and that's what the judge found.' Premier Danielle Smith has said she believes the legislation is needed to protect young people from making permanent, life-altering decisions. Smith has said it's about preserving that adult choice, and that making 'permanent and irreversible decisions' about one's biological sex while still a child can limit that. Article content Kuntz, in her decision, disagreed and said Alberta's law was not necessary to preserve choice. 'That choice is available without government intervention,' Kuntz wrote. 'The ban takes away choice in favour of preserving a very specific choice that some youth may not want to preserve, or that some youth may want to approach differently than the ban assumes.' Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery's press secretary, Heather Jenkins, reiterated in an email that the legislation protects youth from making irreversible decisions. 'Alberta's government will continue to vigorously defend our position in court and is considering all options with respect to the court's decision,' Jenkins said. Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said in a statement that his party was pleased with the decision, calling it a 'great day for young Albertans who simply want to live authentically and safely.' Article content 'This was never about doing the right thing: it was always about demonizing vulnerable kids to boost Danielle Smith's political fortunes,' Nenshi said. Also lauding the decision Friday was Senator Kris Wells, the former Canada Research Chair for the Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth. 'This isn't just a win for trans youth, it is a win for Canada's health-care system,' Wells wrote on social media. 'No politician should be dictating or restricting your access to evidence-based medical care.' Egale and the Skipping Stone Foundation aren't the only groups challenging the bill. Last month, the Canadian Medical Association and three Alberta-based doctors launched a legal case challenging the legislation's constitutionality, arguing it violates their Charter right to freedom of conscience. Alberta's other two pieces of transgender legislation _ banning transgender women from competing in women's sports and requiring children under 16 to have parental consent to change their names or pronouns at school — have yet to be challenged in court. Latest National Stories
National Post
a day ago
- Health
- National Post
Alberta transgender health-care bill blocked as judge issues temporary injunction
EDMONTON — An Alberta judge has put on hold a provincial law that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming care to youth. Article content Justice Allison Kuntz, in a written judgment Friday, said the law raises serious Charter issues that need to be hashed out in court, and issued a temporary injunction against it before it fully came into effect. Article content Kuntz wrote that a temporary stop is needed while the issue is debated. Article content Article content 'The evidence shows that singling out health care for gender diverse youth and making it subject to government control will cause irreparable harm to gender diverse youth by reinforcing the discrimination and prejudice that they are already subjected to,' Kuntz wrote in the judgment. Article content Article content 'Intentionally or not, the ban will signal that there is something wrong with or suspect about having a gender identity that is different than the sex you were assigned at birth.' Article content The law, passed late last year but not fully in effect, bans doctors from providing treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to those under 16. Article content LGBTQ+ advocacy groups Egale Canada and the Skipping Stone Foundation — as well as five transgender youth who would be affected by the law — took the province to court the same month it passed. Article content In the Friday decision, Kuntz wrote that denying treatment risks causing youth emotional harm and exposing them to permanent physical changes that don't match their gender identity. Article content The government, according to the decision, argued that claims of harm were speculative considering the law wasn't fully in effect, and that the treatments the law seeks to ban aren't scientifically supported. Article content Kuntz wrote that the advocacy groups also submitted scientific evidence on the treatments that support their perspectives, but the injunction hearings weren't the appropriate stage to determine which side's evidence stood taller. Article content Kuntz, however, largely sided with the advocacy group's evidence in her decision. Article content She wrote that the government's scientific evidence wasn't 'so overwhelming' as to prevent a finding that the youth's human rights are being infringed upon. Article content The province also argued that the law didn't cause the psychological harm facing the youth involved in the case, but it was a result of going through puberty. Article content 'The starting point for an alleged harm might not be caused by government action, but government action may impact an individual's ability to address the harm in a way that infringes their Charter rights and causes further harm,' Kuntz wrote in response to that argument.
Calgary Herald
a day ago
- Health
- Calgary Herald
Groups secure injunction pausing Alberta government's transgender health-care legislation
Alberta government legislation preventing doctors in the province from providing gender-affirming care to minors has been paused under a court judgment released Friday. Article content The Court of King's Bench of Alberta decision granted an injunction application led by Egale Canada and the Skipping Stone Foundation. Article content Article content Justice Allison Kuntz, in her written decision granting the temporary injunction, said Charter challenges raised by the applicants over Bill 26, the Health Statues Amendment Act, warrant further legal argument. Article content Article content 'The evidence shows that singling out health care for gender diverse youth and making it subject to government control will cause irreparable harm to gender diverse youth by reinforcing the discrimination and prejudice that they are already subjected to,' Kuntz wrote. Article content Article content The bill, introduced last October but not yet in full effect, restricted certain treatments and surgeries for gender dysphoria for individuals under 18, including a ban on puberty blocker and hormone therapies for individuals under the age of 16, and gender reassignment surgeries for people under 18. Article content The applicants included five gender-diverse young Albertans, aged six to 12, and their parents, in addition to the two LGBTQ advocacy groups. Article content They challenged the constitutionality of the amended provisions, arguing the changes violate rights guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Alberta Bill of Rights. Article content 'This is an historic win, affirming that young people in Alberta and across Canada deserve to live authentically in safety and freedom,' Skipping Stone founders Lindsay Peace and Amelia Newbert said in a statement. Article content 'As we have long argued, the government should never interfere in the medical decisions of doctors and patients or prevent parents and youth from deciding what medical care is right for them.' Article content The province had argued preventing access to puberty blocking drugs for trans children and other measures in the bill is based on evidence suggesting such treatments may be harmful. Article content 'Alberta . . . does not doubt the value of providing care to children facing (gender dysphoria or gender incongruence), but that care must be safe and evidence based,' government lawyer David Madsen told Kuntz at a March hearing. Article content 'That is what the legislation is about. Protecting the safety and long-term choice of children and youth from a risky and experimental medical intervention, for which there is little evidence of benefit and evidence of significant harm in some cases.'
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Health
- Edmonton Journal
Alberta judge grants temporary injunction blocking a transgender health-care bill
Article content 'This isn't just a win for trans youth, it is a win for Canada's health-care system,' Wells wrote on social media. 'No politician should be dictating or restricting your access to evidence-based medical care.' Egale and the Skipping Stone Foundation aren't the only groups challenging the bill. Last month, the Canadian Medical Association and three Alberta-based doctors launched a legal case challenging the constitutionality of the bill, arguing it violates their Charter right to freedom of conscience. Alberta's other two pieces of transgender legislation _ banning transgender women from competing in womens sports and preventing youth under 16 from changing their name or pronouns in the school system without parental consent — have yet to be challenged in court. The education bill also requires parents to opt in for their children to receive lessons in school on sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity. — with files from Aaron Sousa
