North Dakota

North Dakota joins states challenging health care protections for transgender Americans

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2024

North Dakota joins states challenging health care protections for transgender Americans

A federal rule seeks to add protections to a section of the Affordable Care Act that prevent health care providers who discriminate on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation from receiving federal funding, including through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (photo illustration by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder).

BY: ANNELISE HANSHAW

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota has joined a coalition of seven states challenging a rule by the Biden administration that would preempt state restrictions on gender-affirming care.

The legal challenge, which is led by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, was filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on Wednesday. The states are seeking to block the regulation and prevent the federal government from enforcing similar mandates.

The rule seeks to add protections to a section of the Affordable Care Act that prevent health care providers who discriminate on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation from receiving federal funding, including through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The rule was set to go into effect July 5, with some provisions beginning later. But another coalition of attorneys general succeeded in their petition to block its implementation just two days prior. The judge in that case cited the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn “Chevron Deference,” a precedent that gave regulatory authority to federal agencies when statute is unclear.

Bailey, along with attorneys general from Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Idaho and Arkansas, argues that the rule conflicts with their states’ restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors. Each has varying restrictions on payments for gender-affirming treatment, with Missouri blocking payment for all treatments for medical transition through Medicaid and CHIP.

“… states will be unable to enforce these duly enacted laws and longstanding policies without coming into conflict with the rule,” the attorneys general wrote in the lawsuit.

The American College of Pediatricians joins the attorneys general as a plaintiff. The ACPeds is a group of 400 physicians and other healthcare professionals in 47 states with a history of anti-LGBTQ advocacy.

“ACPeds members categorically do not provide medical interventions or referrals for, and do not facilitate or speak in ways that affirm the legitimacy of, the practice of ‘gender transition,’” the attorneys general wrote.

The lawsuit alleges that the organization’s pediatricians would suffer “significant financial harm to lose eligibility to participate in federal healthcare programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP.”

One pediatrician in Utah is quoted in the lawsuit saying he would not “self-censor his opinions on transition efforts if the rule goes into effect.”

Predicting his noncompliance with the rule, the Utah pediatrician “faces the prospect of no longer caring for his patients, being fired from his employment and being unable to practice medicine in most settings,” the attorneys general wrote.

The rule violates physicians’ freedom of assembly, the lawsuit states, “by coercing them to participate in facilities, programs, groups and other healthcare-related endeavors that are contrary to their views and that express messages with which they disagree.”

The lawsuit also says it “coerces ACPeds members’ speech.”

“By forcing ACPeds members to tell patients directly, on their walls, and on their websites that they do not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, the rule forces ACPeds members to speak falsely, and it forces ACPeds members to fatally undermine their communication of their own medical ethical standards,” it says.

Beyond questions of constitutionality, the attorneys general allege that the rule goes beyond congressional authorization.

The rule interprets gender identity as protected by both including gender dysphoria as a disability and interpreting sex discrimination to include gender identity. The attorneys general disagree with this application.

Key to the case will be the judge’s interpretation of the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court Case Bostock v. Clayton County, in which a majority of justices ruled that gender identity was protected under Title VII, which is on employment discrimination.

The rule leans on some courts’ interpretation that transfers the Bostock decision to Title IX and the Affordable Care Act, according to its publication in the Federal Register. But the attorneys general cite decisions from judges in red states that do not allow Bostock to apply outside of Title VII.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which is the defendant in the litigation, did not respond to a request for comment.

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North Dakota

Grand Forks Man Running For State Attorney General

Published

11 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Grand Forks Man Running For State Attorney General

(Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota Democrats rallied for a turnaround endorsing several candidates for statewide office to take on Republicans in November.

The Democratic-NPL Party endorsed state Sen. Ryan Braunberger of Fargo for secretary of state, Scot Kelsh of Fargo and John Pederson of Mayville for Public Service Commission and Tim Lamb of Grand Forks for attorney general. The party also issued a letter of support for Tracy Foss of Hatton for superintendent of public instruction.

Democrats have 429 delegates participating, which Party Chair Adam Goldwyn said is the most since 2018. The party has 49 legislative candidates so far, but Goldwyn challenged attendees to field candidates in districts that don’t yet have anyone running.

“The North Dakota Democratic-NPL party has one goal: contest every single election up and down the ballot all across the state,” Goldwyn said.

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North Dakota

NDHP, multiple police sighted downtown

Published

23 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – North Dakota Highway Patrol, Mandan police and Bismarck police were all assisting on an incident Bismarck police say started in Mandan Saturday evening.

Multiple law enforcement vehicles were seen in downtown Bismarck and eventually ended up near Sanford Hospital.

Sanford officials say the hospital was placed under a modified lockdown for a short period of time. The lockdown has lifted.

At this time, no patients or employees were injured.

We will have more on this story as information becomes available.

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North Dakota

Laurel Hanson of Grand Forks remembered for her ‘patient, brilliant’ legal work

Published

1 day ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Laurel Hanson of Grand Forks remembered for her ‘patient, brilliant’ legal work

GRAND FORKS — Though at the time of her death it had been more than 15 years since Laurel Rae Hanson’s legal career ended, a longtime North Dakota Supreme Court chief justice and a federal magistrate judge still fondly remember her skill, passion and dedication.

“Laurel was patient, brilliant and a really good writer,” said Karen Klein, former longtime U.S. magistrate judge, now recognized as a settlement expert and mediation skills trainer. “I find it such a tragedy that her life was cut so short, and that she couldn’t carry through with the career that she so obviously loved.”

Hanson died on Feb. 21, at age 49.

She would have turned 50 on March 10. Her death came after nearly two decades spent combating various health issues, including osteoporosis and an injury that led to early retirement in 2009, when she was in her early 30s.

Former longtime North Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle said he was sorry to hear about Hanson’s death, though he knew she was in poor health. He was her first mentor out of UND School of Law, and found her the perfect fit for the role of his clerk.

“She was an outstanding law clerk, as far as I was concerned,” VandeWalle said. “She certainly deserves all the respect I have for law clerks.”

ND Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald “Gerry” W. VandeWalle is pictured with Laurel Rae Hanson.

Contributed

Hanson’s mother, Barbara Hanson, said she wasn’t sure where her daughter’s career would have ended up if it hadn’t been cut short due to her health issues. Her career had just begun, but she did enjoy clerkship. After working for VandeWalle, Laurel Hanson moved on to a two-year position as Klein’s law clerk. She later took a permanent position when it opened.

The work of law clerks takes place primarily behind the scenes. They help judges review case files, researching and writing first drafts of decisions — a particularly important job, because decisions are expected to include detailed reasoning so everyone involved in a case understands what factored into a judge’s ruling, Klein said.

“If judges were to do it all from scratch, all by themselves, the backlog would just become unmanageable, and parties would wait many months — if not years — for decisions,” she said. “So it’s really important to have that legal expertise in someone other than the judge.”

Judges don’t control the cases assigned to them. While some are simple, others are highly complex — especially in the federal court system, where civil rights issues are handled, she said. Though Hanson’s career was brief, it had impact. Klein still recalls the work Hanson did researching and writing legal documents.

At a young age, she balanced what could at times be heavy work. Hanson was there when Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. was turned over to the federal court system and arraigned for the 2003 kidnapping and murder of 22-year-old Dru Sjodin, a case that made national headlines and created a tense atmosphere in North Dakota, particularly for women, Barbara Hanson said.

Laurel Hanson suffered a fall in 2008 that didn’t seem overly significant at the time, but led to an infection that caused further damage to already weakened bones, her mother said. She retired in 2009.

“I think she loved the law; she just loved delving into issues,” Klein said. “It was just a tragedy that she couldn’t continue.”

Whether dealing with highly controversial or straightforward cases, Laurel Hanson remained level-headed and fair, which are valuable skills for the job, Klein said. She valued Hanson beyond her professional abilities; they also discussed books and Hanson’s travels. She made an effort to embark on new experiences, such as skydiving and scuba diving.

“Things that some of us wouldn’t even dream of — she was willing to take them on,” Klein said.

Barbara Hanson agreed that travel and adventure were among her daughter’s passions, which also included animals, friends and family. During the summer of last year, she was ecstatic to become a great aunt.

“Laurel did so many things, and probably could’ve done more if she hadn’t run up against all her health problems,” Barbara Hanson said. “Laurel really loved life.”