U.S. District Court Judge John F. Heil has ruled that an Oklahoma state law banning sex-change procedures on children was constitutional and therefore could be enforced.

The ruling on Oct. 5, 2023, came as a result of a motion for injunctive relief to restrain the state from implementing the law.

Five young people identifying as transgender and in some degree of transition, their parents or legal guardians, and a health care provider are the plaintiffs in the case.

The defendant is Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican.

In an email to The Epoch Times, Mr. Gentner's press secretary, Leslie Berger, stated: "The Attorney General's Office continues to fulfill its duty to defend Senate Bill 613, and has won a ruling that results in full enforcement of that law."

The lawsuit was filed on May 2, 2023, the day after the Republican-controlled Oklahoma State Legislature resoundingly passed Senate Bill 613 enacting the ban.

Governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican, signed the bill into law just hours after it passed. Then, the state agreed to hold off on implementation until the court ruled on the motion.

The court decided that a child's parents do not have the right to obtain medical services to change the sex of their minor son or daughter, as the plaintiffs contended.

However, in the ruling, there is a recognition of the longstanding legal acknowledgment that Americans have the right to refuse medical treatment.

The statute does not keep Oklahomans who are 18 years old and over from obtaining such procedures.

Judge Heil, a Trump appointee, wrote that there is a distinction between adults who are ready to make life-altering decisions and "minors, who, at least in the eyes of the legislature, are not.