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Protesters block the street in front of the Supreme Court as it hears arguments on whether gay and transgender people are covered by a federal law barring discrimination on the basis of sex on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019. (Photo: Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
'Extraordinary Relief': Advocates Celebrate Partial Block of Alabama Law Targeting Trans Youth
"This ruling means that we will be able to continue providing our child with the medical care he needs and nothing could be more important or more of a relief to our family," said one parent who was a plaintiff in the case.
May 14, 2022
Notching a legal victory for transgender youth in Alabama, a federal judge Friday partially blocked a law passed by Republican lawmakers in the state that made it a crime punishable to up to ten years in jail to prescribe gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormone therapies to minors seeking such treatment.
According to the New York Times, the order by U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke will allow some of the legislation to remain in place but blocked the portion focused on therapeutics because he "found that particular element of the law most likely unconstitutional, writing that parents have a fundamental right to direct the care of their children within medically accepted standards and that limiting care to gender-nonconforming children amounted to sex discrimination."
\u201cThis ruling, stopping enforcement of the parts of the law that criminalize providing puberty blockers or hormones to trans minors, comes from a 2018 Trump appointee in Alabama. As @Esqueer_ notes, it is a mixed ruling as he leaves some of the law in effect. But this is big.\u201d— Chris \u201cSubscribe to Law Dork!\u201d Geidner (@Chris \u201cSubscribe to Law Dork!\u201d Geidner) 1652500785
in his ruling against the law known as SB 184, Judge Burke said the state of Alabama's argument that gender-affirming care for youth is "unsettled science" was not persuasive. As the Associated Pressnotes, "The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Pediatric Endocrine Society both endorse the treatments that clinics here and in other states are providing for transgender youth. More than 20 medical and mental health organizations urged Burke to block the law."
Though the future of the law remains in doubt as the legal challenges against it continue, defenders of rights for trans children, including Jennifer Levi, the Transgender Rights Project director for the advocacy group GLAD, one of the plaintiffs in the case, celebrated the ruling.
"This ruling means that parents of transgender children in Alabama will continue to be able to make the healthcare decisions that are best for their families. It is an extraordinary relief. Parents should not be punished for wanting to do what's best for their kids," Levi said.
James Zoe, father of 13-year-old Zachary of Birmingham and also a plaintiff, expressed elation following the judge's decision.
"This ruling means that we will be able to continue providing our child with the medical care he needs and nothing could be more important or more of a relief to our family. Alabama is our home and we hope this cruel law will not be allowed to force us from it. We are fighting for our child and will continuing fighting so that he and all transgender youth in Alabama remain able to receive appropriate medical care."
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Notching a legal victory for transgender youth in Alabama, a federal judge Friday partially blocked a law passed by Republican lawmakers in the state that made it a crime punishable to up to ten years in jail to prescribe gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormone therapies to minors seeking such treatment.
According to the New York Times, the order by U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke will allow some of the legislation to remain in place but blocked the portion focused on therapeutics because he "found that particular element of the law most likely unconstitutional, writing that parents have a fundamental right to direct the care of their children within medically accepted standards and that limiting care to gender-nonconforming children amounted to sex discrimination."
\u201cThis ruling, stopping enforcement of the parts of the law that criminalize providing puberty blockers or hormones to trans minors, comes from a 2018 Trump appointee in Alabama. As @Esqueer_ notes, it is a mixed ruling as he leaves some of the law in effect. But this is big.\u201d— Chris \u201cSubscribe to Law Dork!\u201d Geidner (@Chris \u201cSubscribe to Law Dork!\u201d Geidner) 1652500785
in his ruling against the law known as SB 184, Judge Burke said the state of Alabama's argument that gender-affirming care for youth is "unsettled science" was not persuasive. As the Associated Pressnotes, "The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Pediatric Endocrine Society both endorse the treatments that clinics here and in other states are providing for transgender youth. More than 20 medical and mental health organizations urged Burke to block the law."
Though the future of the law remains in doubt as the legal challenges against it continue, defenders of rights for trans children, including Jennifer Levi, the Transgender Rights Project director for the advocacy group GLAD, one of the plaintiffs in the case, celebrated the ruling.
"This ruling means that parents of transgender children in Alabama will continue to be able to make the healthcare decisions that are best for their families. It is an extraordinary relief. Parents should not be punished for wanting to do what's best for their kids," Levi said.
James Zoe, father of 13-year-old Zachary of Birmingham and also a plaintiff, expressed elation following the judge's decision.
"This ruling means that we will be able to continue providing our child with the medical care he needs and nothing could be more important or more of a relief to our family. Alabama is our home and we hope this cruel law will not be allowed to force us from it. We are fighting for our child and will continuing fighting so that he and all transgender youth in Alabama remain able to receive appropriate medical care."
Notching a legal victory for transgender youth in Alabama, a federal judge Friday partially blocked a law passed by Republican lawmakers in the state that made it a crime punishable to up to ten years in jail to prescribe gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormone therapies to minors seeking such treatment.
According to the New York Times, the order by U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke will allow some of the legislation to remain in place but blocked the portion focused on therapeutics because he "found that particular element of the law most likely unconstitutional, writing that parents have a fundamental right to direct the care of their children within medically accepted standards and that limiting care to gender-nonconforming children amounted to sex discrimination."
\u201cThis ruling, stopping enforcement of the parts of the law that criminalize providing puberty blockers or hormones to trans minors, comes from a 2018 Trump appointee in Alabama. As @Esqueer_ notes, it is a mixed ruling as he leaves some of the law in effect. But this is big.\u201d— Chris \u201cSubscribe to Law Dork!\u201d Geidner (@Chris \u201cSubscribe to Law Dork!\u201d Geidner) 1652500785
in his ruling against the law known as SB 184, Judge Burke said the state of Alabama's argument that gender-affirming care for youth is "unsettled science" was not persuasive. As the Associated Pressnotes, "The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Pediatric Endocrine Society both endorse the treatments that clinics here and in other states are providing for transgender youth. More than 20 medical and mental health organizations urged Burke to block the law."
Though the future of the law remains in doubt as the legal challenges against it continue, defenders of rights for trans children, including Jennifer Levi, the Transgender Rights Project director for the advocacy group GLAD, one of the plaintiffs in the case, celebrated the ruling.
"This ruling means that parents of transgender children in Alabama will continue to be able to make the healthcare decisions that are best for their families. It is an extraordinary relief. Parents should not be punished for wanting to do what's best for their kids," Levi said.
James Zoe, father of 13-year-old Zachary of Birmingham and also a plaintiff, expressed elation following the judge's decision.
"This ruling means that we will be able to continue providing our child with the medical care he needs and nothing could be more important or more of a relief to our family. Alabama is our home and we hope this cruel law will not be allowed to force us from it. We are fighting for our child and will continuing fighting so that he and all transgender youth in Alabama remain able to receive appropriate medical care."
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