Families, not politicians, should make healthcare decisions

By: Sydney Stock, Prairie Action North Dakota

June 25, 2026

Pride Month is a time to celebrate the courage it takes to live openly and the families who stand beside their children with love. It is also a reminder that Pride began as resistance to government intrusion, discrimination, and the idea that politicians should decide whose lives are worthy of dignity. That’s work that continues today. And on June 30, the final day of Pride month, it will be happening at the North Dakota Supreme Court through the case T.D. v. Wrigley, challenging North Dakota’s cruel ban on gender-affirming care.

North Dakota’s ban on gender-affirming care violates our values. It criminalizes physicians and punishes loving families trying to do what is best for their children. Doctors could face jail time and thousands of dollars in fines for providing care recognized by major medical associations as safe, effective and medically necessary.

These decisions are not made casually. Families ask questions, consult experts, weigh evidence, and make deeply personal choices with their doctors. The state should not replace that careful process with political judgment.

This case is about transgender youth, but the danger extends beyond them. When the government can criminalize medical care because politicians disapprove of it, every family’s health decisions become less secure.

North Dakota’s Constitution says all people are “by nature equally free and independent.” That promise should protect families from government overreach and allow doctors to practice medicine based on evidence, not fear of prosecution.

During Pride Month, and every month of the year, we should stand with transgender young people, their families, and the physicians who care for them. Loving your child should never be treated like a crime. North Dakota families deserve freedom, dignity, and the right to make medical decisions without politicians in the exam room.