Alabamans may soon face felony charges for proving trans minors with hormone therapy, puberty blockers and surgery after a new state Sen...
Alabamans may soon face felony charges for proving trans minors with hormone therapy, puberty blockers and surgery after a new state Senate bill passed with a vote of 23-4 on Tuesday.
The Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act has been sent to the House where a companion bill has already passed a committee, CBS reported.
Violators could face felony charges with up to 10 years in prison or a $15,000 fine if signed into law. It would go into effect 30 days after it is signed by Republican Governor Kay Ivey.
According to the bill's text, 'no person shall engage in, counsel, make a referral for, or cause' treatments to any person under the age of 19 to 'affirm the minor's perception of his or her gender or sex.'
The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Shay Shelnutt, does not seem to specifically target medical workers providing the treatments. The bills' text defines a person as 'any individual.'
Protesters in support of transgender rights line up near the parking lots of the Alabama State House in Montgomery on Tuesday
Protestors in support of transgender rights march around the Alabama State House in Montgomery on Tuesday
Protesters said the bill bans surgeries in the state, which already are not performed on minors
It also targets school officials, forcing them 'to provide for disclosure of certain information concerning students to parents,' specifically 'the fact that the minor's perception of his or her gender or sex is inconsistent with the minor's sex.'
The bill's text also has an ambiguous line noting that medical workers cannot 'remove any healthy or non-diseased body part or tissue,' without specificity on whether that provision applies just to genitalia.
However, the bill does make exceptions for people 'born with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development' such as being 'born with external biological sex characteristics that are irresolvably ambiguous.'
'Children aren't mature enough to make these decisions on surgeries and drugs. The whole point is to protect kids,' Shelnutt said, according to the Associated Press.
Shelnutt admitted during the debate that he has never spoken to a transgender youth and said he did not know that such treatments were being done in Alabama when he first introduced the bill last year.
He opposed an attempt by Republican colleague Tom Whatley, of Auburn, to add an amendment to the bill that made clear that counseling could continue.
Shelnutt said he wants children to get counseling but not any that confirms a gender identity that conflicts with birth.
'We don't want them affirming that, 'Hey yeah, you're right, you should be a boy if you are a born a female',' Shelnutt said.
Alabama is one of at least eight states where conservative lawmakers are pushing such measures, arguing such decisions should wait until adulthood.
Protesters in support of transgender rights march around the Alabama State House in Montgomery on Tuesday
Protesters in support of transgender rights march around the Alabama State House in Montgomery on Tuesday
Parents, trans youth and medical experts have protested outside the Alabama State House to agitate against the bill, arguing it is dangerous and lawmakers don't understand that it is a lengthy process to obtain hormonal treatment.
'As a parent we know that these bills, they're fear mongering,' Justin Vest of Montevallo told The Birmingham News.
'They're not based in scientific evidence. The reality is none of the things they are saying that's being pushed on kids is true. And the reality of trans healthcare for youth, it's evidence-based and it's the right thing for these kids.'
Montevallo said his daughter has known that she was trans since she was just 4 or 5 years old.
'We've watched her grow and followed her lead, and she's been consistent. And so, we want what's best for her,' he said.
Chris White, who has a 12-year-old trans daughter who is on hormone blockers, held a sign that read: 'I trust doctors, not lawmakers. Let me parent my kid.'
'The things they are suggesting happen do not happen. It’s absurd. And it’s not based in fact. Children under 19 do not get surgery on the genitals like they are suggesting in the bill. It does not happen,' White said.
'And while the hormone treatments and blockers do happen, they are done under careful medical guidance with specialists and psychiatric care to make sure the children are well-rounded, getting all the help they need. It’s not done just casually.'
The Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as the Human Rights Campaign and the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund, the Campaign for Southern Equality and AIDS Alabama all oppose the bill.
American Academy of Pediatrics claim the bill would interfere with doctor-patient relationships and that surgeries are not even performed on minors in the state.
The Human Rights Campaign tweeted: 'We need everyone to speak out before Alabama criminalizes gender-affirming care for trans kids. If you live in Alabama, please call your legislators and tell them to vote no on HB1.'
The ACLU claimed that passing the bill will hurt taxpayers as the state would certainly face lawsuits.
'In 2021, Alabama lawmakers have once again set out to take away the healthcare choices of everyday Alabamians, and just like the abortion ban in 2019, these bills could represent another costly lawsuit for the state if they're passed and signed by the governor,' the ACLU said in a statement.
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