(RepublicanView.org) – A federal appeals court has reinstated Alabama’s ban on gender-affirming care for children. Hormone treatments and puberty blockers were banned under the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act last year. The legislation imposed a punishment of up to ten years in prison for those convicted under its terms. Alabama was the first state to institute such laws, but not the last.
A group of parents soon challenged the Yellowhammer state’s new law, and a judge blocked part of it in May 2022. US District Judge Liles Burke placed a temporary injunction while litigation was ongoing. The judge said that the state legislature had produced no evidence of harm to children, whereas gender-affirming care is approved by major healthcare organizations in the US.
The lawsuit filed by parents argued that the legislation was an unlawful violation of the 14th Amendment guaranteeing equal rights and protections under the law.
In the latest ruling, federal judge Lagoa said the court that blocked the law had overreached and did not establish that there is a right in US law for children to undergo gender transition procedures. Lagoa furthermore disagreed with Burke and described the medical transition of minors as “harmful” and with “risks of effects simply unknown due to the new and experimental nature of these interventions.” The law is expected to continue making its way through the courts.
Nineteen US states have passed laws to stop the medical transitioning of minors, with some placing more significant restrictions than others. All are Republican-led, and most have faced, or are facing, legal challenges in court.
In Georgia, a federal judge blocked legislation on August 21 that would have prevented surgeries and puberty-blocker distribution for minors. Biden appointee Judge Sarah Geraghty ruled that the ban violated the Constitution’s equal protection and was dangerous for the young because it risked increasing levels of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, and suicidal ideation.
Courts have blocked similar legislation in Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee.
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