A federal appeals court on Thursday granted Alabama’s request for a preliminary injunction that had prevented the 2022 law from being enforced, allowing the state to quickly start enforcing a ban on the use of hormones and puberty blockers to treat transgender people under the age of 19.
Families with trans children had requested a full appellate court review of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ earlier ruling that the injunction could be lifted, but the decision had been effectively delayed for more than 18 months. While the full court decides whether to review the matter, Thursday’s order will allow the ban to go into effect.
State Attorney General Steve Marshall called the order a “major victory for our state, for children, and for common sense.”
Marshall stated that through the implementation of the Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, “our children’s physical and psychological well-being can now be better protected from these unproven and potentially harmful drugs and medical procedures.”
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act into law in April 2022, making it a crime for doctors to administer hormones or puberty blockers to children under the age of 19 to help them affirm their gender identity.
Less than a quarter later, the preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Liles Burke, who ruled that Alabama had not provided compelling evidence to support the notion that transition drugs are “experimental,” prevented the ban from taking effect. Alabama appealed to the 11th Circuit.
Many states have passed laws restricting or banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adolescents, and many of these laws are currently facing legal challenges or have been blocked by courts. Arkansas had its primary law struck down by a federal judge who found the ban violated the due process rights of younger transgender individuals and their families. Courts have issued conflicting rulings.
Attorneys representing transgender youth who oppose the Alabama restrictions argued that the restrictions “harm parents and children in the state.”
Jennifer L. Levi, an attorney for GLBTQ Advocates & Defenders, said that today’s decision “puts parents in the agonizing position of not being able to access the healthcare their trans adolescents need.” It’s a significant and disappointing setback, but the effort to challenge this law is far from over.
Jeff Walker, a parent, said he is reaching out to his transgender daughter’s doctor at the age of 16 to “figure out what we can do” to continue her medication. He claimed that state officials are trying to override parental and medical decisions.
“If this were kids wearing masks due to a pandemic, if these were treatments, these same people trying to limit my daughter’s access to healthcare would be screaming that this is between their family and their medical provider,” Walker said.
He claimed that families with transgender children are now being treated more harshly in the state and in their community. He said that another family called to express their displeasure with the school for not enforcing the state’s bathroom rules after his daughter Harleigh was recognized for her activism and appeared on a national talk show. Harleigh was informed by the school that she could not use the girls’ restrooms, he claimed. He said that the school program is “kowtowing to the bullies” and that “the lawmakers are jerks.”
Cardiologist Dr. Morissa Ladinsky, who established a Birmingham healthcare practice that treats children with gender dysphoria, called the 11th Circuit’s ruling “heartbreaking.”
Ladinsky said, “This is devastating for our patients and families.” “We will continue to provide the best care we can within the bounds of the law.” However, the law’s enforcement prevents us from providing patients with the medical care they need.
The lawsuit challenging the Alabama restrictions is expected to go to trial in August. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court may decide the case.
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