Today families of transgender youth in North Carolina, medical providers, and legal organizations filed a federal lawsuit against the state of North Carolina, seeking to block enforcement of HB808, which prohibits the initiation of gender-affirming care for transgender youth in North Carolina, as the court challenge proceeds. The case, Voe v. Mansfield, was filed by Lambda Legal, the National Health Law Program, HWG LLP and McDermott Will & Emery LLP, alongside PFLAG National and GLMA.
The law has been in effect since the middle of August of 2023. Read more about the case here.
Dr. Riley Smith, a provider of gender-affirming care in North Carolina, is a plaintiff in the case. He said, “As a family physician that serves transgender patients, I can confirm that gender-affirming care is lifesaving. This treatment is medically necessary, safe, effective, and supported by every major medical organization in the U.S. Laws banning gender-affirming care will have dire consequences for transgender youth. We do not need politicians in the exam rooms with us, overriding the decisions of families and their doctor or putting our professional licenses at risk for doing our jobs. Instead, providers in North Carolina should be able to provide the highest quality, evidence-based care to their transgender patients, just like we do for our other patients.”
At the Campaign for Southern Equality, we’re grateful to see HB808 challenged in federal court and send our love and solidarity to these courageous families and their legal teams. This law is flatly unconstitutional, and we believe it must be struck down.
As we await action from the courts, we encourage families of transgender youth in North Carolina to get in touch with our Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project (STYEP), a regional project of the Campaign for Southern Equality. Equality NC is CSE’s partner for STYEP in North Carolina. Through STYEP, families can receive accurate information about HB808 and other gender-affirming care policies; patient navigation to identify gender-affirming care in North Carolina and out of state; and emergency grants of $500 for immediate needs. Learn more about STYEP at www.southernequality.org/NCresources.
Since launching the Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project in March 2023, the Campaign for Southern Equality has provided more than $300,000 in emergency funding to individuals, families, and organizations that work on behalf of transgender youth in the South. The project currently spans twelve states.
