Indiana
Rokita’s office enlists DC firm to investigate if doctors misrepresent trans care risks
Indiana family advocates for 10-year-old daughter
Beth and Nathaniel Clawson are advocating for their 10-year-old daughter as Indiana passes laws targeting trans youth.
Jenna Watson, Indianapolis Star
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office has contracted with a conservative Washington D.C.-based law firm to help the state investigate claims of healthcare providers misrepresenting the risks of gender transition care and procedures to their patients of any age.
The agency, led by Attorney General Todd Rokita, signed an agreement in November with Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, which allows the firm to investigate claims of such cases for the office’s consumer protection division and to help defend the state’s existing laws on gender affirming care.
Under the contract, which runs through March 2025, Cooper & Kirk is able to investigate claims of misrepresentation tied to gender affirming care for both adults and minors, despite no state law barring any procedures or care for adults.
The contract appears to only require payment from the state if the firm helps win a case with monetary judgment. As of late January the Attorney General’s Office said it had not made any payments to the firm.
The agreement between Rokita’s office and Cooper & Kirk, which helped Indiana in its case against social media app TikTok, continues the attorney general’s recent scrutiny of healthcare organizations that provide gender affirming care to young Hoosiers in the wake of the Indiana General Assembly’s 2023 debate and ban of such care for minors.
Letters sent last March
In March 2023, as lawmakers debated the bill that would ban gender affirming care for minors, Rokita sent letters to medical facilities around the state that alleged clinics misrepresented the risks of gender transition procedures to minor patients, likening the care to child abuse.
Eskenazi Health, Indiana University Health and a clinic in Goshen — medical facilities that responded to Rokita’s request last year —were essentially subpoenaed for more information about transgender care for minors at their facilities, according to reporting by the Indiana Capital Chronicle. Indiana University Health in a statement last year told IndyStar it did not perform gender affirming surgeries on minors, but it did provide other kinds of evidence-based care to youth.
A judge in November denied an ask from those healthcare institutions to stop Rokita’s requests, known as civil investigative demands. In January, the Attorney General’s Office filed to dismiss the case after it resolved a dispute on the requested information.
From 2023: Holcomb signs bill banning transgender surgeries, puberty blockers for minors
Gender affirming care covers a range of treatments, including medical and psychological ones, that support a person’s gender identity, according to the World Health Organization.
Republican lawmakers in states around the country in recent years have taken steps to ban these types of procedures for minors, including the 2023 bill in Indiana. That law is blocked while the federal case, which is now a class action lawsuit, challenging the legislation continues.
Do providers share risks?
Rokita is not the only Republican Attorney General pursuing information about transgender medical cases. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton late last year sent letters to medical providers in Georgia and Washington seeking records of Texas minor patients who received gender affirming care, according to the Texas Tribune. Seattle Children’s Hospital sued the Texas Attorney General’s Office in December to block release of that information.
A spokesperson for Rokita’s office told IndyStar in December that the agency is concerned about gender transition procedures and whether patients, both minors and adults, could be “deceived, abused or treated unfairly by medical providers.”
The spokesperson, who did not provide examples, said “it has been publicly reported” that medical providers prescribe “puberty blockers, sex hormones and surgeries” to patients without disclosing risks.
When asked whether Indiana has received allegations of medical providers failing to disclose risks of gender affirming care, the spokesperson directed IndyStar to file a public records request.
A national group of scientists and medical providers focused on treatment and research tied to hormones told IndyStar there are clear guidelines for practitioners that emphasize the importance of fully informing patients about the side effects of gender affirming care.
The Endocrine Society in a statement said it has a clinical practice guideline for health professionals with recommendations stating that transgender and gender-diverse adolescents should be “informed fully” about risks before care, citing the potential for adverse effects on fertility preservation options as examples of what patients can experience.
“The Society’s Clinical Practice Guideline recommends proceeding with treatment as conservatively as possible to give transgender and gender-diverse youth and their parents time to consider their options,” The Endocrine Society said.
Cooper & Kirk cases
The Cooper & Kirk law firm is not new to work with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office nor legal efforts critical of transgender people.
Cooper & Kirk attorneys in 2023 filed a lawsuit on behalf of parents at a Virginia Beach school to force the district to comply with the state’s Republican governor’s policies on limiting accommodations for transgender students, according to the Associated Press.
The firm dropped the lawsuit in October after the school district voted for rules that align with the governor’s requirements, the AP reported.
The law firm has three active contracts with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, including the contract on investigating gender affirming care cases. The other contracts are tied to Rokita’s lawsuit against TikTok and a general agreement with the firm to help the state in general litigation matters.
The Attorney General’s Office has not had to make any payments to Cooper & Kirk for any of the current contracts. Under the TikTok and gender affirming care contracts, the law firm would receive a certain percentage of any monetary judgments it helps the state win in legal cases, starting at 25% of any dollar amount recovered between $2 million and $10 million.
Rokita sued TikTok in 2022 over allegations the app does not protect children from mature content and that it deceives users about the Chinese government’s ability to access data. The case was dismissed by a state superior court judge in November.
In 2023: Indiana judge tosses out Todd Rokita’s lawsuit of ‘hyperbolic allegations’ against TikTok
The attorney general’s office’s contract with Cooper & Kirk plans for the law firm to help defend the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The state continues to defend the law against a legal challenge brought by the ACLU of Indiana.
The ACLU filed the lawsuit in April just hours after Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill into law. A federal judge temporarily blocked portions of the law in June through an injunction that states Indiana is unable to prohibit treatments for minors while the lawsuit is ongoing. The judge in January approved making the case a class action lawsuit.
As of late January, a trial on the lawsuit is scheduled for April 2025.
IndyStar archives contributed to this story. Contact IndyStar’s state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.
(The REPORTER) — The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, June 10, regarding a proposed corridor improvement project on State Road 32 in Hamilton County.
The hearing will provide an opportunity for the public to interact with the project team, review the features of the proposed roundabout project, and provide official public comment. Project documents are available for review at improvetomove32.com.
The project area is between East Street in Westfield and River Road in Noblesville. The proposed project includes adding lanes to accommodate two lanes in each direction, removing all traffic signals within the project limits, and constructing roundabouts at the following intersections with SR 32:
- Carey Road/Grassy Branch Road
- Gunther Boulevard
- Shady Nook Road
- Moontown Road/Gray Road
- Pebble Brook Boulevard
- Hazel Dell Road/Little Chicago Road
- Mill Creek Road
The hearing will take place at Prairie Waters Event Center, 4180 Westfield Road, Westfield. Doors will open at 5 p.m. to allow the public to view displays and talk with the project team. A presentation will be given at 5:30 p.m., with a public comment session held directly after. INDOT is offering livestreams of all public meetings and hearings. You must register here in order to participate in the livestream. Livestream audience comments will only be accepted in written electronic form, not verbally. A recording of the livestream presentation will be posted on the project webpage and INDOT YouTube page after the hearing and will be available for at least 90 days.
All verbal statements recorded during the public hearing and all written comments submitted prior to, during and for a period of two weeks following the hearing date, will be evaluated, considered, and addressed in subsequent environmental documentation.
Written comments may be submitted within the comment period to Nick Batta, CMT, 8790 Purdue Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268; or sent via email to SR32HamiltonCounty@cmtengr.com.
INDOT respectfully requests comments be submitted by June 26.
A beloved tradition is drawing stitchers, shoppers, and curious newcomers across the region.
If you have ever walked into a quilt shop “just to look,” you already know how that story ends. One minute you are admiring a cheerful stack of fabric with names like sunflower, buttercream, and cardinal red, and the next you are seriously considering whether your house has room for a new table runner, a holiday wall hanging, and perhaps a life-changing bundle of fat quarters. Quilt shops have that effect. They are part treasure hunt, part therapy session, part color explosion, and in Southeastern Indiana, they are also some of the friendliest gathering places around.
That is especially true during the ALL INDIANA SHOP HOP, the statewide sewing and quilting event running through June 30, 2026.
The idea is delightfully simple: visit participating quilt shops, collect passport stamps, pick up thank-you gifts, and become eligible for prizes. The official event even describes it as a quilting version of a bar crawl, only with less late-night regret and more batting, bobbins, and beautiful fabric. There is even a youth passport for ages 8 to 17, which is a nice reminder that quilting is not just a pastime handed down from grandparents. It is also being discovered by a new generation who like making things by hand, repurposing fabric to help the environment, learning skills online, and sharing their creations proudly.
And really, quilting has everything going for it. It is practical, creative, social, and just a little bit magical.
A quilt can be a baby gift, a comfort during a hard season, a graduation present, a family heirloom, or simply a way to make a couch look much more put together than the people sitting on it. Quilters are surgeons with rotary cutters, artists with thread, and storytellers with fabric. They notice pattern, texture, memory, and meaning. Even non-quilters tend to fall under the spell. You do not need to know how to piece a block to appreciate the patience, skill, and imagination it takes to turn small shapes into something that warms both the room and the people in it.
That is one reason local quilt shops matter so much.
Yes, they sell fabric, books, notions, patterns, batting, and tools that can make a beginner feel both excited and slightly underqualified. But they also do something online shopping cannot: they welcome people in. Good quilt shops are places where somebody will help you match prints, explain what on earth a layer cake is, admire your progress, and gently steer you away from a fabric choice you may regret in broad daylight. They are equal parts classroom, clubhouse, and creative headquarters.
Southeastern Indiana is lucky to have several shops that make a Shop Hop route feel less like an errand list and more like a mini road trip with excellent scenery and even better conversation.
In Versailles, The Quilter’s Nook has become a creative quilting and sewing destination with classes, learning opportunities, and plenty of supplies and inspiration for anyone wanting to sharpen their skills or finally start that project they have been thinking about for two years. In Greensburg, Tree City Stitches is known for its premium fabrics, project kits, classes, and welcoming atmosphere, with plenty of samples on display to spark ideas before you even make it to the cutting counter.
In Vevay, Cardinal Quilts offers a deep fabric selection, quilting classes, and longarm services, making it the kind of place where serious quilters can stock up and newcomers can get helpful guidance without a trace of intimidation. And in Madison, L&L Yard Goods has been operating in the same location since 1986, offering quilting essentials, classes, and the sort of steady hometown presence that makes people come back year after year.
Together, these shops help keep quilting visible, vibrant, and local.
They also provide handmade quilts for community projects, children’s hospitals, veterans, and emergency services just like the early quilters did centuries ago.
So if your summer plans could use a little more color, a little more small-town charm,
and maybe a little more excuse to buy fabric you absolutely do not need but definitely deserve, the Shop Hop is calling. Bring a friend, bring your passport, and bring a willingness to be delighted by places where craftsmanship still matters and people still make beautiful things with their hands.
In Southeastern Indiana, quilting is more than a hobby.
It is history from the days of early pioneers, hospitality that warms you, creativity and community all stitched together one square at a time.
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