On March 2, the state of Alabama voted to make hormone therapy and gender affirmation surgeries for transgender youth a felony. This bill would make it a felony for medical professionals to treat transgender people under the age of 19 with gender-affirming care, and violators could face up to 10 years in prison or a $15,000 fine.
Shay Shelnutt, a member of the Alabama senate, explained that “Children aren’t mature enough to make these decisions on surgeries and drugs. The whole point is to protect kids.”
Now, that statement right there is the most disappointing thing that I’ve ever heard. Imagine how difficult the process already is to receive gender-affirming care, and then, lawmakers make it even more dangerous by passing a bill like this.
It seems like Shelnutt was just trying to figure out a way to justify voting on this bill when clearly the real reason for passing this bill is his transphobia. It is even more saddening to hear that Shelnutt has never even spoken to a transgender child before and has no prior knowledge of the process of receiving gender-affirming care.
It is extremely disappointing to see this bill being passed because it feels like a step back for transgender rights in America. We have come so far in the fight for transgender rights in this country and it’s not okay for bills like this to be passed when we need to be becoming a more progressive country and vote on bills that will allow rights that will benefit everyone.
Not only is this bill harmful to the transgender community as a whole, it is specifically detrimental to transgender youth, which are the most vulnerable group of people in the community. It’s important that we protect these children from being statistics and from the danger that their mental health could bring upon them after facing the rejection of their identities from society.
With Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, this bill is even more disheartening as we are meant to celebrate the identities of people who represent a strong force amongst the LGBTQ+ community. On this day, we are meant to celebrate the accomplishments of transgender/gender non-conforming people and spread awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve justice for this community. There’s no compassion in passing this bill, and there’s no fairness in passing a bill that ostracizes a group of people simply being themselves and living their truth.
