Oklahoma – Page 2

Alabama has been granted the ability to enforce its felony ban on gender-affirming health care for minors, as per a federal court ruling on Thursday.

The decision allows the state to proceed with the ban, lifting a preliminary injunction that had prevented officials from enforcing it for over a year.

On Thursday, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the injunction against Alabama’s 2022 law, turning it into a felony for physicians to prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to transgender individuals under 19. Convictions could lead to sentences of up to a decade in prison.

When the injunction was issued in 2022, U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke stated that Alabama failed to provide credible evidence demonstrating that gender-affirming treatments are “experimental.”

In August, a federal appeals court reversed this decision, stating, “The use of these medications in general—let alone for children—almost certainly is not ‘deeply rooted’ in our nation’s history and tradition,” referencing the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

In November, Alabama’s attorneys requested the 11th Circuit stay the enforcement of the district court’s preliminary injunction, which was granted Thursday in a brief unsigned order.

A September request for a rehearing made by the Alabama families challenging the law is still pending, and a full trial on the constitutionality of the ban is slated for August.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall praised Thursday’s decision as “a significant victory for our country, for children, and for common sense.”

In a joint statement, lawyers representing the families challenging the law said the ruling will cause significant harm to children and parents in Alabama.

“Alabama’s transgender healthcare ban will harm thousands of transgender adolescents across the state and will put parents in the excruciating position of not being able to get the medical care their children need to thrive,” according to the statement, issued Thursday by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Human Rights Campaign.

Including Alabama, 23 states have enacted laws or policies that heavily restrict or ban gender-affirming health care for transgender minors. Laws passed in five states — Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Idaho — include provisions that make it a felony crime to provide treatment to trans youth under 18.

This blog originally appeared at The Hill.

Five Oklahoma families with transgender children, along with a doctor who specializes in treating transgender youth, have filed a lawsuit challenging the recently enacted ban on gender-affirming health care for minors in the state. They argue that the new law discriminates against transgender individuals and violates the constitutional right to parental autonomy.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Tuesday by the ACLU, Lambda Legal, and the law firm Jenner & Block LLP, asserts that Oklahoma’s Senate Bill 613, signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt, causes significant and irreparable harm to transgender adolescents and their parents. The law prohibits health care providers from administering gender-affirming medical care to minors, making Oklahoma the 18th state to enact such legislation.

Notably, Oklahoma is among the four states, alongside Alabama, Idaho, and North Dakota, that have made it a felony to provide gender-affirming health care to transgender children and teenagers, carrying a potential sentence of up to ten years in prison. However, a federal judge previously issued a temporary block on the Alabama law pending a legal challenge by the ACLU.

The lawsuit argues that the Oklahoma law unjustly discriminates against transgender youths and contradicts best-practice standards for gender-affirming care, thereby violating their constitutional rights. While the law prohibits health care providers from offering “gender transition procedures” to minors, it does not prevent the same treatments from being administered to cisgender youths for managing conditions like precocious puberty.

The plaintiffs, including the five transgender minors who are identified using pseudonyms for their safety and privacy, assert that the law jeopardizes their access to safe and medically necessary health care. By specifically targeting transgender adolescents and imposing a discriminatory and categorical ban on their medical treatments, Oklahoma endangers their health and well-being, according to the lawsuit. Furthermore, the law infringes upon the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding their children’s care.

The Oklahoma Attorney General’s office acknowledged the filing of the lawsuit and stated that they would review it, reaffirming their commitment to defend the state’s laws. In response, Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, counsel and health care strategist at Lambda Legal, criticized Governor Stitt and the Oklahoma legislature for their actions, stating that the ban on gender-affirming care is rooted in animus towards transgender individuals and fueled by misinformation and disinformation campaigns.

This legal challenge in Oklahoma underscores the ongoing national debate surrounding transgender rights and the restrictions being imposed on gender-affirming care for minors. As the lawsuit progresses, its outcome could have far-reaching implications for the rights and well-being of transgender youth not only in Oklahoma but across the United States.

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Category: Oklahoma

Alabama has been granted the ability to enforce a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

Alabama has been granted the ability to enforce its felony ban on gender-affirming health care for minors, as per a federal court ruling on Thursday.

Oklahoma Families and Doctor Challenge State’s Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Minors

This blog originally appeared at The Hill.

Not just Florida. More than a dozen states propose so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bills – NPR

This blog originally appeared at NPR News.