Alabama Restricts Healthcare for Transgender Teens Proposal To Reduce Insulin Prices Passes

Vaishnavi Peyyety

Red & Black contributor

Recently, Alabama lawmakers have criminalized providing medical care for transgender people, with the consequence of up to 10 years in prison for doctors and nurses. In the past, conservative lawmakers have approved a number of bills including legislation that limits gender-affirming care, restricts lessons on gender and sexuality in the education system and stops transgender students from participating in sports. In several states, laws were passed to require “students to use restrooms and locker rooms for the sex listed on their original birth certificates”1 .

However, this new bill is even more discriminatory, preventing physicians from prescribing hormones, puberty-blocking medication or gender-related surgeries. While Alabama lawmakers were debating this situation, many individuals shared emotional testimonies about their experiences with doctors and nurses who saved their lives and therefore should not be punished for helping people express themselves. Various anti-transgender laws have also been enacted in Idaho, Texas, and Florida. Though other states have similar bills that stop doctors and nurses from providing gender-affirming care, none of these bills have been so far-reaching as to make it a felony-level offense.

People who support this legislation believe that it will keep their children safe because parents and children may not “comprehend and fully appreciate the risk and life implications, including permanent sterility, that result from the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures”1 .

Advocates for the transgender community and medical establishments are highly against this legislation and argue that this legislation will “endanger children who are already vulnerable as they struggle with their gender identity”1. These laws may also drive people away from living in these states because struggling with gender identity is emotionally taxing and having to deal with that along with a community that is unsupportive of their transition is even more difficult. References 1Rojas, Rick, and Tariro Mzezewa. “Alabama Lawmakers Approve Ban on Medical Care for Transgender Youth.” The New York Times, 7 Apr. 2022.

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