Alabama ban on gender-affirming look after transgender youth takes effect

May 8 (Reuters) - An Alabama law that makes it a felony to offer gender-affirming medical remedy to transgender youth went into impact on Sunday whereas a federal judge weighs whether to grant a motion to put a temporary hold on it.

The legislation makes it a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison to provide puberty blockers, hormones and medical procedures to transgender youth beneath 19.

Governor Kay Ivey had signed the invoice on April 8. An identical however not as far-reaching law in Arkansas was blocked by the courts final year earlier than it may go into impact.

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After a two-day hearing concluded on Friday, U.S. District Decide Liles Burke gave no indication on when he'll rule on the motion searching for to temporarily halt enforcement of the ban while a lawsuit is pending, in accordance with native media experiences.

The lawsuit, brought by organizations including the Human Rights Marketing campaign and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, argues the ban would cause "rapid and irreparable" harm to the plaintiffs and that the measure violates several of their constitutional rights.

The teams filed the lawsuit on behalf of parents of 4 Alabama transgender youth, two physicians and a minister. The U.S. Division of Justice has joined the case, saying the Alabama regulation "violated the equal protection clause" of the U.S. Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment.

Mainstream medical and mental health professionals say gender-affirming care saves lives by reducing the already excessive risk of melancholy and suicide among trans youth.

Gender-reassignment surgery for individuals under 18 is extremely uncommon and would happen only after years of treatment in cases where the affected person's needs are unwavering, in accordance with medical consultants.

Transgender rights have emerged as a wedge problem in the tradition wars forward of the November midterm congressional elections. Republican lawmakers have introduced hundreds of bills across state legislatures, the majority of them directed at trans youth.

Many Republicans and conservative activists promote the laws as safeguards for youngsters and parental rights. Opponents, together with Democrats and LGBTQ organizations, say the laws is dangerous, pointless and would have dire penalties on an already susceptible inhabitants.

In line with a current survey by the Trevor Challenge, a non-profit centered on suicide prevention among LGBTQ youth, 93% of transgender and nonbinary youth said they've worried about trans individuals "being denied access to gender-affirming medical care as a result of state or native legal guidelines."

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Reporting by Maria Caspani; Modifying by Leslie Adler

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