EDMONTON - An Alberta judge has put on hold a provincial law that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming care to youth.
Justice Allison Kuntz, in a written judgment Friday, issued a temporary injunction against the law, saying it raises serious issues that need to be hashed out in court.
Kuntz wrote that a temporary stop is needed to prevent what she calls 鈥渋rreparable harm鈥 coming to young patients while the issue is debated.
"The evidence shows that singling out health care for gender diverse youth and making it subject to government control will cause irreparable harm to gender diverse youth by reinforcing the discrimination and prejudice that they are already subjected to," Kuntz wrote in the judgment.
The law, passed late last year but not fully in effect, would have prevented doctors from providing treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to those under 16.
Kuntz wrote that denying access to this care not only risks causing youth emotional harm but also exposes them to permanent physical changes that don't match their gender identity.
"Intentionally or not, the ban will signal that there is something wrong with or suspect about having a gender identity that is different than the sex you were assigned at birth," she wrote.
"Gender diverse youth will bear the entire burden of that speculation."
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups Egale Canada and the Skipping Stone Foundation took the case to court, and in a statement Egale said the decision was a "historic win."
Premier Danielle Smith has said she believes the legislation is needed to protect young people from making permanent, life-altering decisions.
Egale and the Skipping Stone Foundation aren't the only groups challenging the bill.
Last month, the 春色直播 Medical Association and three Alberta-based doctors launched a legal case challenging the constitutionality of the bill, arguing it violates their Charter right to freedom of conscience.
Alberta's other two pieces of transgender legislation 鈥 banning transgender women from competing in womens sports and preventing youth under 16 from changing their name or pronouns in the school system without parental consent 鈥 have yet to be challenged in court.
The education bill also requires parents to opt in for their children to receive lessons in school on sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity.
This report by 春色直播was first published June 27, 2025.
