January 1, New Alabama Law Angers LGBTQ+ Advocates

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) enacted a law making gender-affirming care illegal for transgender and nonbinary youth under age 19.

Under the new law, which is the first such law in the U.S., doctors who provide or recommend things like puberty blockers to patients under age 19 would be committing a felony.

“There are very real challenges facing our young people, especially with today’s societal pressures and modern culture,” Ivey said in a statement. “I believe very strongly that if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl.”

“We should especially protect our children from these radical, life-altering drugs and surgeries when they are at such a vulnerable stage in life,” she said.

Before Ivey signed the first-of-its-kind measure into law, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Lambda Legal, the Transgender Law Center, and the law firm Cooley LLP sent a warning threatening to sue the state if she enacted the “unconstitutional bill.”

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Alabama Gov. Ivey signs bill criminalizing gender-affirming care into law