Senatet i Alabama har vedtatt et lovforslag som medfører at det blir definert som en kriminell handling å foreskrive pubertetsblokkerende hormoner og kjønnshormoner til personer under 19 år. Det var den republikanske senatoren Shay Shelnutt som fremmet forslaget.
The Alabama Senate today passed a bill that would make it a crime for doctors to prescribe opposite sex hormones or drugs that block puberty from people under age 19 who identify as transgender.
Vedtaket ble fattet etter en offentlig høring som inkluderte vitnesbyrd fra leger og personer som hadde opplevd denne behandlingen, men som både advarte mot og som forsvarte behandlingen.
The bill by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, was approved by a committee last week after a public hearing that included testimony from doctors and people with first-hand experiences who took positions both for and against the bill.
Senator Shelnutt kaller behandlingen for barnemishandling, og forslaget fikk overveldende støtte i Alabamas Senat.
Shelnutt said today most children with gender dysphoria eventually adjust and that giving them medications that could have permanent effects amounts to child abuse. Shelnutt’s bill is called the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act.
The Senate passed the bill today by a vote of 22-3. It moves to the House of Representatives.
“I just don’t think and others don’t think that kids should be given experimental drugs or surgeries that could have irreversible consequences for the rest of their life,” Shelnutt said. “Kids are not fully developed until later in life. I think we can all agree that kids aren’t capable of making certain decisions until certain ages. And so, we want to just stop these procedures from happening in Alabama.”
Demokraten Vivian Davis Figures, spurte om det var lovgivers rolle å legge restriksjoner på beslutninger som bør tas mellom foreldre og barn:
Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, questioned whether lawmakers should place restrictions on decisions that should be between parents and their children.
Figures said advocates for the bill haven’t presented enough factual information about why they think it’s needed, such as how many children in Alabama would be affected.
Loven, hvis den blir endelig vedtatt, vil medføre strenge straffer for overtredelse:
The bill would make it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, to prescribe, dispense, administer, or otherwise supply opposite sex hormones or puberty-blocking medications to minors. It would also prohibit surgeries that change a minor’s anatomy for gender reassignment.
