A Montana law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors will remain temporarily blocked, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, after justices agreed with a lower court judge who found the law likely violates the state's constitutional right to privacy.

Access to lifesaving medical care makes all the difference in the world,” the dad of a transgender daughter told The Advocate.

Transgender minors in Montana will continue to have access to certain healthcare procedures following a decision issued Wednesday morning by the Montana Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld a September 2023 injunction granted by Missoula County District Court Judge Jason Marks that temporarily blocked Senate Bill 99,

The conservative-majority Supreme Court appeared likely to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender minors as it heard the case.

The Montana Supreme Court issued an opinion Wednesday that allows a lower court’s injunction blocking the 2023 law that bans gender-affirming care for minors to stay in place, agreeing with the court that the law on its face likely violates the right to privacy in the state constitution.

Those who sued to challenge the ban are likely to succeed in proving it violates their privacy rights, the court ruled.