The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging Arkansas' law banning health care for transgender youth.

Governor Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, vetoed House Bill 1570 but Republicans in the General Assembly overrode his decision in April. The law is the first in the nation.

The law prohibits health care professionals from providing or even referring transgender youth for transition-related health care and allows private insurers to refuse coverage for transgender individuals of any age. The bill is expected to take effect on July 28.

Plaintiffs in the federal case are four transgender young people and their families as well as two doctors.

In a press release, the ACLU said that the law violates various clauses of the US Constitution.

“It violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it discriminates on the basis of sex and transgender status by prohibiting certain medical treatments only for transgender patients and only when the care is ‘related to gender transition,’” the lawsuit states. “This discrimination cannot be justified under heightened scrutiny or any level of equal protection scrutiny. In addition, by preventing parents from seeking appropriate medical care for their children when the course of treatment is supported by the child and their doctor, the Health Care Ban interferes with the right to parental autonomy guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Lastly, the Health Care Ban violates the First Amendment by prohibiting healthcare providers from referring their patients for medical treatments that are in accordance with the accepted medical standards of care to treat gender dysphoria.”

ACLU of Arkansas Executive Director Holly Dickson said that the law “would be devastating to trans youth and their families, forcing many to uproot their lives and leave the state to access the gender-affirming care they need.”

“Gender-affirming care is life-saving care for our clients, and they’re terrified of what will happen if this law is allowed to take effect.” Dickson said. “No child should be cut off from the medical care they need or denied their fundamental right to be themselves – but this law would do both. We’re suing to stop this cruel and unconstitutional law from taking effect and inflicting further harm on these children and their families.”

At least one of the plaintiff families said that they are considering moving out of Arkansas to escape the ban's reach.