BATON ROUGE - A law banning services, treatments, and procedures that alter the sex characteristics of a minor took effect in 2024, soon after a lawsuit was filed against the state on behalf of five Louisiana transgender youth and their families.

Nicholas Hite, senior attorney with Lambda Legal, says he and his team have every intention to take the case to trial.

"What we are asking is that even if this law is on the books, because it is unconstitutional, it can't be enforced," Hite said.

On Thursday, Hite and the state went before 19th JDC Judge Ron Johnson, with the state looking to put a stop to the suit.

During the court hearing, the state's attorneys pointed to the Supreme Court's 2025 court ruling that upheld Tennessee's ban on sex change healthcare for minors.

"The Louisiana statute really just discriminates on the basis of a person's identity; it doesn't say anything about a specific diagnosis, it doesn't say anything about a specific treatment. It just says that based on a patient's sex, you either get care or you don't get care. Louisiana's constitution says you cannot separate people in that way," Hite said.

Ultimately, Judge Johnson denied the state's motion, saying the Supreme Court's ruling does not necessarily determine what happens in Louisiana.

"As we noted in court today, numerous experts who are prepared to testify in court about the very real harm that this law causes to minors, to their parents, to their entire family," Hite said.

In a statement to WBRZ, Attorney General Liz Murrill says:

"My job is to enforce Louisiana law and protect children from mutilation. members of the state legislature, and I fully agree that these dangerous, irreversible medical procedures are barbaric and should never be performed on children. This is common sense, which is why we are vigorously defending the law in court."

The next court hearing on the case is scheduled for June 11th.