Sweet home Alabama has a nicer ring to it these days.
On Monday, a federal appeals court ruled that Alabama could enforce a ban which outlawed the use of puberty blockers and hormones for “transgender” children. While a challenge is expected to proceed to trial in April, 2024, the ban, in the meantime, will take effect.
The act, Alabama’s Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act was signed into law in 2022 and it made it a felony to give kids puberty blockers, punishable by 10 years in prison. However, shortly after, four families with trans kids, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice challenged the law and tried to block it.
In a win for the fight for children’s safety, the court reversed the injunction on Monday.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals court determined that the state of Alabama had “a compelling interest in protecting children from drugs, particularly those for which there is uncertainty regarding benefits, recent surges in use, and irreversible effects."
According to the Associated Press, Ala. Attorney General Steve Marshall called the ruling a "significant victory for our country, for children and for common sense.”
As it is written, individuals under the age of 19-years-old will not be allowed to receive any puberty blockers to slow their development. It’s become a commonly known fact that puberty blockers are harmful, detrimental and life altering for children. While they’ve been approved by the FDA for their use to treat children with early puberty, they haven’t been federally approved for the purpose of treating gender-questioning youth yet.
In response to the news, pro-child safety advocates and individuals celebrated.
The popular X account, Gays Against Groomers wrote, “Children are now SAFE from sterilization and mutilation in Alabama!” Another group, LGBPatriots explained, “Sanity for Humanity is finally finding its traction against the gender ideology virus,” and America First Legal said that the law would protect “children from chemical castration and other radical transgender procedures.”
Others were not so excited, one group wrote, “This devastating ruling will cause irreparable harm to transgender youth. This ban is discriminatory and rooted in hate.” An Alabama website, AL.com wrote a piece about how “families feel betrayed” by the law and feel like they “have to leave Alabama.” AP News explained that parents would be “scrambling for care” and regularly referenced mutilating and damaging children’s bodies as “gender-affirming care.”
The judge of the case set a trial date for April 2, 2024 to determine whether the law would be permanently blocked, but for now, Alabama’s kids are safe.
