North Dakota

North Dakota District judge upholds ban on gender-affirming care for minors

Published

2 months ago

October 9, 2025

North Dakota District judge upholds ban on gender-affirming care for minors

BISMARCK, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A North Dakota district court has upheld the state’s ban on gender-affirming medical treatments for minors, rejecting constitutional challenges from families and a physician who argued the law violated equal protection and parental rights.

The court’s ruling for T.D. vs. Wrigley, handed down on October 8, dismissed most of the plaintiff’s claims while allowing the law to remain in effect. The court found that North Dakota’s Health Care Law, passed in 2023, does not violate the state constitution’s equal protection clause or fundamental rights provisions.

Law prohibits multiple treatments

The Health Care Law prohibits providers from performing specific procedures or prescribing certain medications to minors for gender affirmation purposes. Banned treatments include puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries such as castration, hysterectomy and mastectomy.

Healthcare providers who violate the law face Class B felony or Class A misdemeanor charges. The law includes exceptions for minors with certain genetic disorders or those who began treatment before April 21, 2023.

Standing issues limit case

The court dismissed most plaintiffs, including minor patients and their parents, finding they lacked standing to challenge the law. Many were already receiving care before the law’s effective date, placing them under the grandfather exception, while others sought procedures not performed on minors in North Dakota.

Court applies rational basis review

The court determined the Health Care Law classifies based on age and medical purpose rather than sex, rejecting arguments that it discriminated against transgender individuals. The judge found that age is not a “suspect classification” because it changes over time, and concluded that transgender status is not a suspect classification under the North Dakota Constitution.

Applying rational basis review, the court found the law had a reasonable relationship to legitimate government purposes, citing recognized medical risks of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors, concerns about minors’ capacity to understand long-term irreversible effects like sterility, and ongoing international debate among medical experts about treatment safety and effectiveness.

Personal autonomy claims rejected

While acknowledging that a right to personal autonomy and self-determination exists under the North Dakota Constitution, the court found that this right traditionally applies to competent adults refusing unwanted medical treatment, not to minors seeking statutorily prohibited treatments.

The court ruled that there is no affirmative right to obtain specific medical treatment when the government has reasonably prohibited it and found that the Health Care Law satisfies rational basis review on grounds of personal autonomy.

Final ruling preserves grandfather clause

The court denied requests for a declaratory judgment that the Health Care Law violates the North Dakota Constitution and denied a permanent injunction to stop enforcement. However, the court granted a declaratory judgment confirming the law does not apply to minors who were receiving gender-affirming care before April 21, 2023.

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North Dakota

As ACA tax credits expire, a North Dakota rural hospital braces for 2026

Published

4 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

As ACA tax credits expire, a North Dakota rural hospital braces for 2026

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – With federal health care tax credits set to expire, rural hospitals in the state warn the ripple effect could strain their budgets while they are already operating on thin margins.

The Emergency Department at Jamestown Regional Medical Center is gearing up for more patients to come into their doors, uninsured, starting Jan. 1.

“We could be affected as early as January of the coming year. So it would happen very, very quickly. And nobody really knows what’s going to happen,” said Mike Delfs, the CEO of Jamestown Regional Medical Center.

Many rural residents are on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Since premiums are predicted to spike significantly, some people will drop insurance, and they will be forced to go to the ER when they get sick. Hospitals cannot refuse emergency patients, and will have to shoulder the cost on thin margins.

“We would be looking at anticipated bad debt, but to what degree we don’t even know, and it is kind of scary to think about,” said Delfs.

Hospital leadership and staff say that the uncertainty is wearing on them, on top of the common stressors rural providers have to deal with.

As of now, they say their best bet is to hope that Congress can put aside partisan differences and come up with a solution.

“We have real people who are either going to lose their insurance or its going to get so expensive they literally can’t afford it. And the downstream effect of that is now you are endangering hospitals in rural locations just by their mere viability,” said Delfs.

According to hospital leadership, without congressional action in 2026, the end of the year could leave the hospital with nearly one million dollars in unpaid medical bills.

North Dakota’s Republican congressional delegation says the Rural Health Transformation Fund will greatly benefit rural hospitals and blames democrats for voting against their healthcare plan.

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North Dakota

Pepperdine hosts North Dakota State following Koenen’s 22-point game

Published

16 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Pepperdine hosts North Dakota State following Koenen’s 22-point game

North Dakota State Bison (8-2) at Pepperdine Waves (7-2)

Malibu, California; Tuesday, 5 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: North Dakota State visits Pepperdine after Avery Koenen scored 22 points in North Dakota State’s 83-55 victory against the Eastern Illinois Panthers.

The Waves are 4-0 on their home court. Pepperdine is 1-0 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 18.2 turnovers per game.

The Bison are 3-0 on the road. North Dakota State scores 77.4 points and has outscored opponents by 15.3 points per game.

Pepperdine averages 8.1 made 3-pointers per game, 2.8 more made shots than the 5.3 per game North Dakota State gives up. North Dakota State averages 6.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.1 fewer made shots on average than the 7.3 per game Pepperdine allows.

TOP PERFORMERS: Seleh Harmon averages 2.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Waves, scoring 10.4 points while shooting 44.4% from beyond the arc. Elli Guiney is shooting 47.3% and averaging 14.4 points.

Molly Lenz averages 1.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Bison, scoring 7.8 points while shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc. Koenen is averaging 18.2 points, 10 rebounds and 1.6 steals.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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North Dakota

North Dakota lawmakers from West Fargo announce bid for reelection

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

North Dakota lawmakers from West Fargo announce bid for reelection

WEST FARGO — Three incumbents from West Fargo will run for reelection to their state legislative seats.

North Dakota Sen. Judy Lee and Reps. Jim Jonas and Austen Schauer, all Republicans, announced Sunday, Dec. 14, that they would campaign to represent District 13 in the state Legislature. The district covers much of north West Fargo.

Austin Schauer.

Special to The Forum

Lee was first elected to the North Dakota Senate in 1994. Jonas and Schauer have served in the state House since 2023 and 2019, respectively.

The three ran unopposed in the 2022 election. The next election for their seats is in 2026.

Jim Jonas, candidate for West Fargo School Board. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor — Jim Jonas.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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