CNA Staff, Aug 13, 2025 / 11:42 am

A federal appeals court this week ruled that the state of Arkansas is allowed to ban “gender transition” procedures for minors, reversing a lower court’s decision that blocked the law from taking effect.

The state has a “compelling interest” in “protecting the physical and psychological health of minors,” the Aug. 12 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit held.

Arkansas passed the law in 2021, with the state Legislature voting to override then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s veto. The measure, titled the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act, prohibits a “physician or other health care professional” from providing “gender transition procedures to any individual” under 18 years old.

A federal district judge struck the law down i

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