Updated Statement on Alabama’s Anti-Trans Healthcare Laws
May 18, 2022
Kwentoria A. Williams
kwwilliams@urge.org
Today, URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity celebrates the outcome of the Alabama case, Rev. Eknes-Tucker v. Marshall, as a step to protect transgender and non-binary young people in exercising their bodily autonomy in health care decisions. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Northern Division, held that a portion of the anti-trans healthcare law that passed in Alabama last month cannot stand. The sections that would criminalize doctors for providing gender-affirming healthcare to trans and non-binary youth in Alabama have been enjoined by the courts and are not currently being legally enforced. Harmful sections of the law remain in effect, including provisions that require teachers and school personnel to notify legal guardians of a child’s gender dysphoria or face criminal charges. Other laws targeting trans youth in Alabama are also in effect, including a law requiring trans youth to play on sports teams that match their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity and a law requiring trans young people only use school bathroom and locker room facilities that match their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity.
Courtney Roark (they/them), Alabama Policy & Movement Building Director for URGE, stated, “We cannot continue to sit idly by while transphobic violence hurts the trans and non-binary folks in our communities. URGE will continue to oppose legislation and policies that stigmatize and criminalize trans and non-binary young people, their families, and the supportive adults in their lives. Be a good co-conspirator and follow the lead of trans and non-binary folks in your community. Give your money and attention to The Knights & Orchids Society (TKO) to support trans and non-binary people in Alabama: Donate – The Knights & Orchids Society (tkosociety.com).“
