Families, doctors urge Alabama to reject trans treatment ban

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Transgender youth, parents and advocates on Tuesday urged the Alabama House of Representatives, as well as the state’s governor, to reject legislation that would ban the use of puberty-blockers or hormones to treat transgender minors.

Arkansas earlier this month became the first state to approve such legislation. Alabama could be the second if House members approve the Senate-passed bill. Parents, medical providers and a transgender teenager spoke out against the Alabama bill during a virtual press conference hosted by the Human Rights Campaign.

“I ask you to take a look at our family. How am I hurting me or anyone else by wanting medical hormonal treatment? I do not want to be a pawn in a political agenda in which I was never consulted about,” Phineas Smith, a 16-year-old transgender boy, said.

The Alabama bill would make it a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a doctor to prescribe puberty-blockers or hormones or perform surgery to aid in the gender transition of people 18-years-old or younger. The measure cleared the state Senate in early March and awaits a vote in the House of Representatives, where Republicans outnumber Democrats 76-27.

Opponents, including parents and trans youth, say such measures interfere with medical decisions and target trans individuals for the sake of politics. Sponsors counter that they are trying to protect children from decisions that should wait until adulthood.

House Speaker Mac McCutcheon last week said House members are trying to educate themselves on the issue and he could not estimate when the bill might see a floor vote. The session is tentatively scheduled to end May 17.

“Anytime you get a bill that’s that significant, that deals with those kinds of issues, members want to make sure that they are educated...