A federal appeals court rejected an appeal by pro-transgender advocates, allowing Alabama to keep protecting children and youths from transgender advocates.
The good news was matched by other events in Texas, Virginia, and Missouri where judges and university officials rejected demands from transgender advocates seeking to minimize the public’s recognition of the two male and female sexes.
The United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals released a divided 173-page decision in which ten out of 11 judges took part, according to the Alabama Reflector. In the decision from the court, there were five dissenting opinions and a concurrence written by U.S. Circuit Judge Barbara Lagoa.
In May 2022, an Alabama law went into effect, which made it a felony to conduct transgender surgeries on minors or to offer minors puberty blockers or hormone treatments.
“Judge Rosenbaum’s dissent characterizes the panel opinion as holding that parents do not have a constitutional right to access ‘life-saving medical care’ for their children. Rosenbaum Dis. Op. at 4; see also Jordan Dis. Op. at 22 (describing the asserted right as ‘the right of parents to obtain medically-approved treatment for their children’),” Lagoa wrote in her concurrence. “But frankly, whether puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones qualify as ‘life-saving’ treatment-or even ‘medical care’-is a policy question informed by scientific, philosophical, and moral considerations. Neither an unelected district judge nor unelected circuit judges should resolve that debate for the State of Alabama.”
This comes after a three-judge panel issued a decision in August 2023 that reversed a ruling from a federal district court that blocked Alabama’s ban from being enforced.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall wrote in a post on X that the court upholding Alabama’s ban on transgender surgeries and gender-affirming care for minors was a “big win to protect children” in the state.
“Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act continues to be enforced!” Marshall wrote. “This is a big win to protect children from these untested and life-altering chemical and surgical procedures.”
Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act continues to be enforced! This is a big win to protect children from these untested and life-altering chemical and surgical procedures. pic.twitter.com/XElVMwAhhX
— Attorney General Steve Marshall (@AGSteveMarshall) August 29, 2024
In her dissenting opinion, Judge Robin Rosenbaum wrote that “the panel opinion’s reasoning strip every parent in this Circuit off their fundamental rights” to get medical treatments for their children.
Judges Jill Pryor and Adalberto Jordan also joined Rosenbaum’s dissenting opinion.
“If ever a case warranted en banc review, this is it,” Rosenbaum wrote. “The panel opinion’s reasoning strips every parent in this Circuit of their fundamental right to direct that their children receive any medical treatment (no matter how well-established and medically endorsed)-except for those medical treatments in existence as of 1868. Yes, 1868-before modern medicine. So in the states of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, blistering, blood-letting, and leeches are in, but antibiotics, antivirals, and organ transplants are out.”
The decision from the federal appeals court comes as Sweet Briar College, a liberal arts college in Virginia announced that it would only be accepting biological women, according to the Washington Times.
“An applicant is qualified for admission if she confirms that her sex assigned at birth is female and that she consistently lives and identifies as a woman,” the college’s website says.
Missouri, along with 23 other states recently filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of North Carolina and West Virginia seeking an appeal regarding a decision from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals requiring taxpayer-funded healthcare insurance plans to “cover” medical treatments for transgender individuals, according to the Carolina Journal.
Texas recently established a new policy that prevents transgender drivers from being able to change the sex listed on the license.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued a statement stating that, “not having an accurate driver’s license jeopardizes trans people’s health and safety,” due to the potential of them experiencing discrimination or harassment, according to KHOU 11 News.
Similar policies have been enacted in states such as Florida, Kansas, and Montana, according to Kut News.