In Cross v. State of Montana, (MT Sup. Ct., Dec. 11, 2024), the Montana Supreme Court upheld a trial court's preliminary injunction against enforcement of Montana's ban on medical or surgical treatment of minors for gender dysphoria. The court said in part:
¶37 The statute’s impact on individual privacy rights triggers strict scrutiny review, which requires the State to demonstrate that “the legislation [is] justified by a compelling state interest and [is] narrowly tailored to effectuate only that compelling interest.” ... Though the State has a compelling interest in “safeguarding the physical and psychological wellbeing of a minor,” a statute implicating their privacy rights must be narrowly tailored to serve that interest.... SB 99 affords no room for decision-making by a patient in consultation with their doctors and parents. The statute is a complete ban, prohibiting individualized care tailored to the needs of each patient based on the exercise of professional medical judgment and informed consent.
¶38 At this stage of the proceedings, the District Court conscientiously weighed the parties’ evidence.... Our role is not to reweigh conflicting evidence or to question a district court’s assessment of the strength of the evidence on a preliminary injunction appeal....
Justice McKinnon, joined by Justice Gustafson, filed a concurring opinion, saying in part:
I write separately because I believe Plaintiffs’ equal protection claim should likewise be addressed by the Court.
Justice Rice dissented in part, saying in part:
¶68 I concur with the Court’s holding affirming the District Court’s entry of a preliminary injunction enjoining SB 99’s medical restrictions. A legislative prohibition of an approved medical procedure must satisfy the high bar of being narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest in addressing a bona fide health risk....
¶69 However, it should also be noted that both the medical and legal grounds regarding the subject treatment of minors addressed by SB 99 are moving under our feet, and the status quo itself is becoming a moving target, even as this litigation continues....
¶70 I would reverse the District Court’s enjoinder of the funding prohibition of SB 99...
Daily Montanan reports on the decision.
