South Central Judicial District Judge Jackson Lofgren. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Testimony from kids and parents affected by North Dakota’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors wasn’t central to a judge’s decision last week to uphold the statute.

Instead, the ruling hinged on defining who deserves special legal protections and whether the law discriminates on the basis of sex, according to one state constitutional law expert.

The plaintiffs argued that transgender adolescents affected by the bill should be considered a protected class under the law because they are a small minority being forced to conform with government-imposed sex stereotypes.

Quinn Yeargain, an associate professor of law at Michigan State University, agreed, citing the history of discrimination against transgender people in areas like employment, health care and a host of other areas.