A lawsuit was filed April 19 challenging a new Alabama law banning puberty blockers or hormones as transgender treatments for children and teens.
The lawsuit challenges Senate Bill 184, known as the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, set to take effect May 8.
The law bans certain medical therapies for minors and makes it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison for medical providers who violate the law.
The lawsuit was filed in Montgomery in federal court. Two previous lawsuits challenging SB 184 were withdrawn April 15.
Plaintiffs in the new suit are four families with children ranging from ages 12 to 17, two doctors and a clergy member. The plaintiffs are not identified in the lawsuit.
Activists involved
In an April 16 statement announcing the withdrawal of the first two lawsuits, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said a “fleet of activist groups” were behind the legal challenges, despite lawmakers’ hopes the new law will “protect children from experimental medical interventions that have no proven benefits and carry with them substantial risk of long-term, irreversible harm.” Care for children
Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, one of several national LGBTQ rights groups representing the teens and their families called the transgender therapies “critically important care” and said care providers and families want “the best for their children.”
Lawmakers in other states have proposed similar measures, but Alabama is the first state to lay out criminal penalties for doctors. A 2021 Arkansas law banning transgender treatments for minors remains on hold after a federal judge blocked its enforcement.
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