Transgender 9-Year-Old Sues North Carolina

A transgender 9-year-old in North Carolina is suing the state, claiming a new law banning transgender-affirming care for minors is unconstitutional.

The 9-year-old, pseudonymously identified as Victor Voe in the lawsuit, and the child's parents are joined in the lawsuit by a doctor and several LGBTQ rights groups.

The law in question passed early this year, and the Republican-led legislature overrode Gov. Roy Cooper's veto in August. The law was passed to protect minors who choose to undergo hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery and come to regret it, said Republican lawmakers.

State Rep. Hugh Blackwell told the New York Times that Republicans crafted the legislation "recognizing the serious and the potentially permanent effects of the procedures that this bill addresses. It simply says that they need to wait until they are 18 to make that kind of decision.”

Voe's family and supporters say the care is medically necessary.

"Untreated gender dysphoria is associated with severe harm, including anxiety, depression, and suicidality," reads the lawsuit. "Cutting vulnerable adolescents off from treatment or withholding necessary care will inevitably cause significant harm"