A federal judge in Alabama has decided to delay the trial regarding the state’s prohibition on the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender youth. The trial, originally scheduled for October, will now be postponed until after the U.S. Supreme Court makes a ruling on a similar case from Tennessee. Judge Liles C. Burke explained that it would be more prudent to await further guidance from the Supreme Court before investing substantial judicial resources in deciding the case.
The ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth in Alabama has been in effect since last year and will continue to be enforced during this postponement. The Supreme Court recently announced that it will be examining the constitutionality of state laws that restrict such medical care. The specific case under review involves a challenge to a Tennessee law that also limits the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender youth, with arguments scheduled for the fall.
Across the United States, 25 states have implemented laws that either limit or entirely prohibit gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender youth, with various outcomes in the federal courts. In Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey signed the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act into law in 2022, which criminalizes doctors who provide puberty blockers or hormones to transgender individuals under 19, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The Alabama ban was contested by four families with transgender children, aged between 12 and 17, who argued that the law violates equal protection and free speech rights, and interferes with family medical decisions. The U.S. Department of Justice joined the lawsuit against the law in an effort to overturn it. While Judge Burke initially halted the law with a temporary restraining order, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later overturned the injunction, allowing the enforcement of the ban in Alabama.
Both the Justice Department and the families opposing the Alabama ban requested the trial’s postponement, which was ultimately granted by Judge Burke amid differing opinions from the Alabama attorney general’s office, which had advocated for the case to proceed without delay.
