Politics

Federal Court Greenlights Red State’s Ban On Sex Change Hormones, Surgeries For Minors

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The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary order to lift an injunction preventing an Alabama law banning sex-change surgeries for minors from going into effect, according to court documents.

The law was halted in 2022 for the duration of the lawsuit by a district court, which claimed that the legislation illegally intruded into a patient’s medical decisions, according to the Associated Press. The appeals court ruled against the lower court’s decision in August, and on Thursday it lifted the injunction to allow the law to take effect while the appellate court continues to weigh the law.

“The physical and psychological safety of our children can now be better protected from these untested and life-altering chemical and surgical procedures through the implementation of the Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act,” Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a press release. “This is a significant victory for our country, for children, and for common sense.”

BREAKING | Eleventh Circuit Order Clears Way for Enforcement of Law Protecting Children from Experimental Sex-Modification Procedures
Full Statement: https://t.co/Ubn4O2j54k pic.twitter.com/Gs0lF9jGzV

— Attorney General Steve Marshall (@AGSteveMarshall) January 11, 2024

The Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act was passed in April 2022 and designated performing sex-change surgeries or prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones as a Class C felony. If violated, doctors could face up to 10 years in prison.

A group of parents with children who identify as transgender filed a lawsuit against the ban in April 2022 after it was signed into law, and attorneys representing the plaintiffs released a joint statement Thursday saying that it “will harm thousands of transgender adolescents.”

“Alabama’s transgender healthcare ban will harm thousands of transgender adolescents across the state and will put parents in the excruciating position of not being able to get the medical care their children need to thrive,” the joint statement from GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Human Rights Campaign reads.