A judge has blocked Alabama’s ban on puberty blockers for children but has upheld the state’s ban on so-called “gender-affirming” surgeries for minors.
U.S. District Judge Liles Burke, an appointee of President Donald Trump, stated in his decision issued last Friday that the plaintiffs were “likely to show that they have a fundamental right to treat their children with transitioning medications subject to medically accepted standards,” as The Christian Post reported.
“The Act prevents Parent Plaintiffs from choosing that course of treatment for their children by criminalizing the use of transitioning medications to treat gender dysphoria in minors, even at the independent recommendation of a licensed pediatrician,” the judge wrote in his decision.
“While Defendants offer some evidence that transitioning medications pose certain risks, the uncontradicted record evidence is that at least twenty-two major medical associations in the United States endorse transitioning medications as well-established, evidence-based treatments for gender dysphoria in minors,” he added.
Puberty blockers for minors have been highly controversial despite their support from major medical associations.
Many argue that the elective treatments can cause sterility and are irreversible and point to evidence suggesting that many gender dysphoric children often revert to identifying with their biological sex once they reach adulthood.
Alabama’s “Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act” was signed into law by Republican Governor Kay Ivey, who stated at the time as she signed a bill also mandated that schools restrict bathrooms to biological sex only, “Here in Alabama, we’re going to go by how God made us: If the Good Lord made you a boy, you’re a boy, and if he made you a girl, you’re a girl. It’s simple.”
The gender-affirming treatment ban was promptly challenged by the Alabama chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which stated that “Transgender youth are a part of Alabama, and they deserve the same privacy, access to treatment, and data-driven health care from trained medical professionals as any other Alabamian.”
The ACLU vowed to “fight to make sure this is the reality for trans kids and their families” and condemned “the intrusive actions of the lawmakers who voted to use children as political pawns for their reelection campaigns.”
Treatments for transgender youth as well as LGBT ideology in public schools have been some of the most divisive political issues over the last year, with Republican lawmakers in several states including Texas and Florida aiming to curb both.
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