The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday rejected a proposed ballot measure that would have broadly banned gender-affirming care and surgery for minors.
The court ruled that the supporters of Initiative 175 had not quickly enough appealed a state administrative board’s rejection of the proposal. If it had advanced and then passed in November, the measure would have prohibited the use of surgeries or hormone treatments on people younger than 18 unless necessary for reasons other than gender affirmation, like premature puberty or a birth defect.
The Colorado Title Board, the administrative body that approves and rejects ballot measures, at first approved the initiative earlier this spring — and then rejected it after receiving an appeal from opponents. Supporters then adjusted the language, but the title board rejected it again.
That prompted the Supreme Court challenge and the court’s Monday ruling that the challenge had been filed outside the required seven-day window. The unanimous opinion was written by Justice Melissa Hart.
“As we approach the end of Pride Month, we are thrilled that the Colorado Supreme Court has denied the appeal of a vocal minority who would make it illegal to provide medically necessary care to transgender people,” said Mardi Moore, the executive director of Rocky Mountain Equality, in a news release.
The initiative was backed by Wayde Goodall, an author and Christian academic with ties to Focus on the Family, and Darcy Schoening, the former co-chair of El Paso County’s Moms for Liberty chapter who now says she works for the Colorado Republican Party.
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