Alabama Gov. Ivey Signs Law Criminalizing Gender-Affirming Medication For Minors

Topline

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) on Friday signed into law a bill that criminalizes prescribing gender-affirming medication for transgender youth, making Alabama the third Republican-controlled state to refuse such medical care to minors.

Key Facts

Under the law, it is a felony for doctors to perform medical procedures or prescribe medication to children to change their appearance, gender or delay puberty.

Doctors who violate the law are subject to up to 10 years in jail or a fine of up to $15,000, and the law requires teachers, counselors, nurses and principals to inform parents if students say they are transgender.

Ivey said in a statement after enacting the law that children should be protected from what she called “these radical, life-altering drugs and surgeries,” and that children who want to change their gender should be provided help to “properly develop into the adults God intended them to be.”

Ivey also signed a bill that opponents have called Alabama’s “Don’t Say Gay” amendment, which bans students from using school bathrooms that don’t correspond with their gender at birth.

Chief Critic

Rep. Neil Rafferty (D-Ala.) said on a Human Rights Campaign call Friday that it was a “shameful, shameful day” in Alabama,” the Montgomery Advertiser reported. Rep. Neil Rafferty (D-Ala.) said, “Make sure they know they will not erase us,” adding Alabama is “our home, too.” The Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Medical Association of the State of Alabama have opposed legislation denying treatments to trans youth because it would affect medical care and are not evidence-based.

Key Background

Alabama joins Arkansas and Arizona in banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. This year, Republicans in at least a dozen states have passed legislation targeting trans youth, such as restricting or outright banning them from receiving medical care and participating in sports, Reuters reported. After Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) mandated doctors, nurses and teachers to report parents who assist their children’s gender-affirming medical treatments, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement that refusing such treatments to trans youth is “discriminatory” and illegal.

What To Watch For

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Alabama, Lambda Legal and the Transgender Law Center said Thursday they planned to sue the state as soon as Ivey signed the law that forces students to use school bathrooms at correspond with their gender at birth. Kaitlin Welborn, a staff attorney for the Alabama chapter of the ACLU, told the Washington Post Thursday that the passage of legislation that mandates students use school bathrooms that match their gender at birth is detrimental for trans youth, pointing to teen suicides following the passage of similar bills in other states.

Further Reading

Alabama governor signs law banning transgender medication (Associated Press)

Alabama Lawmakers Pass Ban On Gender-Affirming Healthcare For Children (Forbes)

Factbox: The onslaught of U.S. laws targeting transgender youth (Reuters)