INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WOWO) — A federal court has entered final judgment in favor of Indiana, bringing an end to a more than three-year legal challenge to the state’s law restricting gender-transition procedures for minors.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced the development Tuesday, saying the court’s decision closes the remaining claims brought by the American Civil Liberties Union over Senate Enrolled Act 480.
The law, passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 2023, prohibits physicians and other health care practitioners from providing gender-transition procedures to people under 18. The law covers surgeries, cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers.
The ACLU challenged the law in federal court, and a lower court initially issued an order blocking it from taking effect.
Rokita’s office appealed that decision.
In February 2024, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the lower court’s block, allowing the Indiana law to take effect. Later that year, in November, the appeals court again ruled in favor of Indiana, reversing the lower court and determining that the law does not violate the Constitution.
That ruling effectively resolved the central constitutional challenge. The ACLU subsequently abandoned the remaining portions of its lawsuit, according to Rokita’s office.
The federal district court has now entered final judgment for Indiana and dismissed the remaining claims with prejudice, meaning those claims cannot be brought again in the same form.
Rokita called the ruling a major victory for the state and said his office would continue defending the law.
“We have won this critical fight against radicals who would otherwise impose this horrific practice on our kids for ideological and financial reasons,” Rokita said.
“My office will keep standing between our children and those who would sacrifice their health, innocence, and well-being on the altar of woke gender ideology.”
The final judgment does not change how the Indiana law is currently enforced, because the restrictions have already been in effect following the 2024 federal appeals court ruling.
The dispute has been part of a broader national legal battle over laws regulating gender-transition-related care for minors.
Indiana’s law specifically prohibits certain procedures for people under 18, including surgical procedures and the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for gender-transition purposes.
Rokita credited Indiana Solicitor General James Barta and the attorneys who represented the state throughout the litigation.
The attorney general’s office said the conclusion of the case marks the end of the ACLU’s legal challenge to Indiana’s law.
The ruling follows years of litigation that began shortly after lawmakers approved the restrictions in 2023. The case moved through the federal courts before the 7th Circuit’s decisions in 2024 allowed the law to remain in effect.
With the district court’s final judgment now entered, the state’s restrictions remain in place unless they are changed by future legislation or another successful legal challenge.
