The Alabama attorney general has scored a win against a group of trans activists suing over a state law banning transgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers.
The Alabama legislature passed a bill in April 2022 designating sex-change treatments as Class C felonies. Doctors who violated the law could face up to 10 years in prison.
Shortly after Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill into law, a group of transgender advocates sued the Alabama governor and Attorney General Steve Marshall over the law. (RELATED: Rachel Levine Praised Gender Clinic That Wants To Call Women ‘Egg Producers’ As ‘Inspiring’)
“She has undermined the health and well-being of Alabama children and put doctors like me in the horrifying position of choosing between ignoring the medical needs of our patients or risking being sent to prison,” the lawsuit states, NBC News reported.
A federal judge blocked enforcement of the law in May 2022.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction against the law on Monday.
🚨🚨🚨 Eleventh Circuit overturns district court’s injunction, says Alabama law banning so-called gender-affirming care for transgender children can go into effect. Opinion by Barbara Lagoa, who also wrote the decision upholding Florida’s bathroom law. https://t.co/i8RMRGZnxl
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) August 21, 2023
The court writes that in the preliminary injunction, it was argued that the law violates a due process right deeply rooted in the nation’s history.
“But the use of these medications in general — let alone for children — almost certainly is not ‘deeply rooted’ in our nation’s history and tradition.”
The court goes on to argue that a parent’s right to make medical decisions for his or her children does not necessarily include, “the right to give one’s children puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone treatment.”
“Having carefully considered all of these positions, we agree with Alabama that section 4(a)(1)–(3) is best understood as a law that targets specific medical interventions for minors, not one that classifies on the basis of any suspect characteristic under the Equal Protection Clause.”
“The Eleventh Circuit reinforced that the State has the authority to safeguard the physical and psychological wellbeing of minors, even if the United States Attorney General and radical interest groups disapprove,” Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller. “Alabama takes this responsibility seriously by forbidding doctors from prescribing minors sex-modification procedures that have permanent and often irreversible effects. This a significant victory for our country, for children, and for common sense.”