Federal judge to rule quickly but says Alabama's transgender law could go into effect - Alabama's News Leader

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A federal judge left the door open that Alabama's controversial law banning transgender medical treatment for children could go into effect despite an effort by a group of parents and the U.S. Department of Justice to block it.

U.S. District Judge Liles Tucker said he would work as quickly as possible to issue a ruling on the request for a preliminary injunction.

"Just like all of you I want a well-reasoned order that is right on the law...we're not going to work on anything else" the judge said at the end of the hearing which included two days of testimony from the plaintiffs and the State of Alabama.

Unless blocked by the court, the Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act (S.B. 184) will take effect Sunday, May 8th, making it a felony for a doctor to prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to aid in the gender transition of anyone under age 19. Violations will be punishable by up to 10 years in prison. It also prohibits gender transition surgeries, although doctors had told lawmakers those are not performed on minors in Alabama.

Dr. Morissa Lodinsky, who serves as a care provider at The Gender Clinic at UAB Medicine, said staff and patients were prepared for the law to take effect Sunday.

"It would only be natural for any family with a transgender child to feel anxious, to feel scared and to feel in a place of limbo. So we will hope that the wheels of justice act as they should."

The law has received broad pushback from trans-right advocacy groups and condemnations from medical organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Alabama chapter.

Lodinsky and other doctors testified abruptly cutting off hormone therapy, particularly testosterone treatment, could have damaging side effects.

Four Alabama families, a Birmingham minister and an Alabama doctor filed the suit under pseudonyms, citing privacy concerns. Tucker granted their request.

The suit, which was originally filed with the assistance of trans-right advocates including the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the Southern Poverty Law Center, also contended ministers including Birmingham Paul Eknes-Tucker could be held criminally liable for counseling parents of transgender children in the church's congregation. Tucker is the only plaintiff using their real name in the suit.

The Department of Justice announced last week it would join the suit challenging Alabama's law. Federal attorneys argue Alabama's law unfairly discriminates the medical choices of transgender minors, creates hardships by forcing minors with gender dysphoria to go through puberty, developing physical traits which the suit argued would lead to otherwise avoidable surgeries as an adult.

The State of Alabama's Solicitor General Edmond Lacour sought to calm some concerns about the law. He told the judge he did not believe parents or pastors offering counsel to children would be criminalized under the law. He also added he did not believe doctor's would be criminalized for trying to wean patients off hormone therapy.

"It shows just how vague this statue is that we can't know just by reading this," argued attorney Jeffrey Doss.

Doss, a Birmingham-based lawyer, who represents the anonymous plaintiffs, argued in his closing statements that concerns over the potential side-effects of hormone therapy were not justification for the law.

"There is no such thing as a risk-free medical treatment," Doss said, comparing it to the potential infertility caused by chemo therapy given to cancer patients.

"Under the state's logic we ought to ban that. Of course we don't."

The argument was part of the State of Alabama's witness testimony and closing arguments which took up the majority of the day's proceedings.

Dr. James Cantor, a clinical psychologist from Toronto testified for the State and challenged the plaintiff's assertions that medical intervention was necessary to treat the mental effects of gender dysphoria

"Making such a claim is a half truth," the doctor said. Cantor argued it was impossible to separate medical treatment's own effects when coupled with psychotherapy, which the law would still allow as a legal treatment. The doctor also sited recent changes in European laws as evidence of shifting opinions in the scientific community towards treatment of gender dysphoria.

Cantor however under cross examination from Melody Eagan, a Birmingham-based attorney for the plaintiffs, testified he could not point to any European country which had imposed a blanket ban for medical treatment like Alabama.

"How about any country?" interrupted Judge Tucker.

Cantor replied simply, "No."

Eagan pointed out a tweet which the doctor retweeted a tweet appearing to recruit parents of Alabama parents with negative experiences from gender affirmative treatment.

Eagan asked Cantor whether the State's lawyers had received any affidavits from Alabama parents claiming a negative experience with treatment?

"No," he answered, which ended Eagan's cross examination.

The State of Alabama's final witness was Sydney Wright, a Cedar Bluff woman who received gender-altering treatments to transition into a man before ultimately abandoning the medications and her views on being transgender.

Wright testified about her experience at two Atlanta-based gender clinics where she was prescribed hormone therapy and a mastectomy.

"They want to move you in and out as fast as they can...I could tell off the bat that these people didn't care about me."

Wright suffered weight gain, increased heart rate and was diagnosed as pre-diabetic before ultimately ending her treatments. She directly attributed the symptoms to her testosterone treatments while attempting to transition.

Wright admitted under cross examination she began receiving the treatment when she was 19-years-old. Alabama's law would not prevent her from receiving medical treatment as an adult.

source: https://abc3340.com/news/local/federal-judge-to-rule-quickly-but-says-alabamas-transgender-law-could-go-into-effect

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