Alabama Makes Gender-Affirming Care for Teens a Felony
The legislation makes it a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison to provide puberty blockers, hormones and medical procedures to transgender youth under 19.
Landwebs
An Alabama law that makes it a felony to provide gender-affirming medical treatment to transgender youth has gone into effect after Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill on April 8, reports Reuters. The legislation makes it a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison to provide puberty blockers, hormones and medical procedures to transgender youth under 19. A lawsuit, brought by organizations including the Human Rights Campaign and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, argues the ban would cause “immediate and irreparable” harm to the plaintiffs and that the measure violates several of their constitutional rights. Mainstream medical and mental health professionals say gender-affirming care saves lives by reducing the already high risk of depression and suicide among trans youth. U.S. District Judge Liles Burke is currently weighing whether to grant the motion seeking to temporarily halt enforcement of the ban while the lawsuit is pending.
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