The judge also said the state is unlikely to overturn the decision through the Alaska Supreme Court, writing in the order that the state “has not shown a likelihood of prevailing on the merits on appeal.”

Dr. Anne Zink, who is stepping down as the state’s chief medical officer, became a household name in Alaska during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski is one of the bipartisan Senate bill’s supporters. “If men went through menopause, we would’ve adequately researched and funded menopause research decades ago,” she said.