Transgender treatment bill dies as Alabama legislative session ends

A bill introduced in the Alabama legislature that would have banned treatment for transgender children died at the end of the state’s legislative session.

The legislation, called the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, banned hormone therapy, puberty-blockers and surgery for transgender youth under 19. Violators would have been fined and faced jail time.

The state Senate passed the bill in early March on a 23-4 vote, and the legislation was set up for a vote in the House.

But according to The Associated Press, the measure was placed at end of a debate agenda that lawmakers couldn’t get through before the session adjourned around midnight on Monday.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama and LGBT civil rights group Lambda Legal announced plans in late April to file a legal challenge to the measure, which is said was “an effort to block potentially lifesaving health care for transgender young people.”

Kaitlin Welborn, an attorney for the ACLU of Alabama, said in a statement on Monday “while the Alabama Legislature avoided passing this poorly designed bill, and we should all celebrate this victory for transgender people, for human rights, and for the state of Alabama, we know that this is not the last attack we will see on the transgender community.”

“We cannot become complacent,” Welborn said.

Alabama would not have been the only state to pass such a ban on transgender youth.

Arkansas enacted a ban on treatments and surgery for transgender youth. Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) vetoed the bill, but the Arkansas State Legislature voted to override the veto.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) last month signed a bill banning transgender youth from playing sports on teams for the gender with which they identify.