Last Thursday, the Alabama state legislature passed two bills targeting LGBTQ+ youth, their families, educators, and medical practitioners. Both bills have just been signed into law by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, making for the latest in the trend of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the US.
Following the signing, Ivey stated, “I believe very strongly that if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl.” The previous year, she had also approved a measure barring transgender girls and women from playing on female school sports teams
New legislature combines “bathroom bill” and “Don’t Say Gay” bill
The first of the two bills signed, HB 322 was originally meant to disable transgender students from using sex-segregated school facilities, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, matching their gender identities, requiring them instead to use facilities corresponding with their assigned sex at birth. A provision prohibiting classroom discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity for kindergarten to fifth grade in public K-12 schools was added in the last legislative session, borrowing language from the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that has been highly protested by queer activists as of late.
The bill’s sponsor, Alabama state Rep. Scott Stadthagen, denied that the bill targeted transgender students and described it instead as a protective measure for cis female students.
Alabama to ban gender-affirming medical care for trans minors
The second bill signed, SB 184, outlaws the provision of gender-affirming medical care to people 18 and under in the state, barring access to puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgical procedures. Parents and medical professionals aiding trans youths’ medical transition will now be convicted of felony facing possibly up to 10 years prison time and a $15’000 fine.
Alabama physicians have criticized the bill for making use of misinformation on gender-affirming care and its effects on children, such as claims that puberty blockers cause infertility and other health risks. Experts have stated that risks relating to puberty blockers only present if they are taken after puberty.
The bill also claims that medical transition affects mental health and leads to elevated rates of mortality, substance abuse, depression, and psychiatric hospitalization in comparison to the general population. Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention however instead links higher rates of substance abuse, depression, and suicidal ideation among the trans population to the stigma and discrimination they experience for their unique identities, and has found reduced psychological distress and suicidal ideation among trans individuals that have undergone gender-affirming procedures.