A judge in Texas on Friday temporarily blocked a new law that prohibits gender-affirming care for most minors in the state.

As Republican lawmakers have pushed restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming care in recent months, Democratic-led states have increasingly responded by passing so-called shield laws to protect people who undergo such care against the possibility they could one day face prosecution.

As several state legislative sessions have concluded or are drawing to a close, some of the high-profile legislation enacted by state lawmakers is just taking effect.

A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked Kentucky Senate Bill 150, which would have prohibited transgender minors from receiving several forms of gender-affirming care. The ruling stops the law from taking effect while other courts hear challenges to the law.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed into law a ban on gender-affirming care for most minors in the state, making Texas the largest state in the US to place restrictions on transgender youth's access to critical care.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, signed a bill into law on Monday that bans most abortions after 12 weeks with exceptions for sexual assault, incest and medical emergencies.

A Nebraska bill combining a ban on most abortions after 12 weeks and restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender Nebraskans under 19 is poised to become law after the state's unicameral legislature voted for its passage Friday.

Activision Blizzard King employees have planned a walkout protest against the United States’ governments attacks on civil and reproductive rights of its citizens.